The Uchiha Fraud
by Cinma
Summary: AU. Their marriage was a hoax meant to deceive the Uchiha matriarch, but why does Sakura suddenly feel as if she's doing more than just playing house with Uchiha Sasuke? Medical school really wasn't worth the trouble. SasuSaku. Minor pairings.
1. Marriage Plans

_Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto and is no work of mine._

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**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter One

* * *

"Are you shitting me?"

The blonde sitting on the other side of the desk stared at him in disbelief, confused as to whether he should laugh or feel embarrassed for his best friend. Uchiha Sasuke massaged his temples, clearly agitated over his rather… _unfortunate_ predicament. A week ago, Uchiha Mikoto had proudly announced over the telephone that she was heading back to Tokyo in order to visit her youngest son at his estate. His mother's announcement wasn't the reason why the young Uchiha was currently frustrated; the sudden visit was the least of his worries.

It was the fact that a year ago—he was engaged. To _Karin_.

The same conniving bitch that cheated on him with Suigetsu, his bodyguard.

Fuck relationships. Really.

"I need to find a wife," Sasuke repeated slowly, as if what he stated was part of a normal routinely schedule.

"If you haven't noticed, teme," Naruto started, raising a brow, "You've been asexual for the past year, and the only female you've had contact with is Hinata—and that's only when you ask her to drop off the paperwork in your office."

"Dobe," Sasuke hissed, his impatience getting the better of him. "I didn't ask you to point out the fucking obvious."

Realization dawned on him.

"Are you serious?" Naruto blinked. "Why can't you just tell your mom that you broke off the engagement with Karin? Things happen, she'll understand."

"If it was that easy, you moron, I'd have done it already."

"No need to get all anal, what's your problem anyw—" Naruto suddenly stopped, a smirk snuck its way onto his lips. Before Sasuke had a chance to tell his friend to "shut the hell up," Naruto bursted into a fit of laughter. After a few minutes of silence, save for the blonde's stifled chuckles, he calmed down enough to wipe the few tears that formed. "Well damn, teme. Does your pride really mean that much to you?"

Sasuke glared, causing Naruto to refrain from another round of laughter. "Yes or no, dobe. If not, get the fuck out."

"Alright, alright," Naruto replied, bringing his hands up in front of him as if to surrender. "You know it's going to be hard finding someone that can put up with a bastard like you…"

The Uchiha heir blatantly ignored him, returning to the stacks of files on his desk as Naruto begun prattling on about 'Assholes' and 'Ramen'. Sasuke stared at his desktop—calculating, no doubt. His mother was bound to ask questions, so he'd need an alibi; luckily for him, he had acquaintances that owed him a favor or two. He wouldn't go as far as calling them his friends, the last guy he thought he could trust had run off with his ex-fiancé. Speaking of the red-head, her stuff was still inside the house… he never got around to rid of them due to his hectic schedule. As Sasuke thought of sending the packaged boxes off to good-will, a thought occurred and he instantly froze.

His mother was going to be staying at _his _house.

.

Well_, fuck._

_

* * *

_

_Yamanaka Flower Shop_

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"Ino,_ please_!" Naruto begged, blocking the girl's way as she attempted to maneuver towards the window display. "He's willing to pay you!"

"As much as I'd like to be considered a high-class whore—" she reached up, arranging the roses in the vase, "I don't."

"No, of course not!" Naruto spluttered, scratching the back of his head. "My friend's mom is visiting Tokyo, and he needs a temporary wife until she leaves. Nothing sexual, acting at most. Two weeks of it, tops."

Ino narrowed her eyes, resting her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong with telling his mom he's not married?" She scoffed. "Really, men these days. Going through all the trouble of pretending to have a wife when the truth would have sufficed."

"Well, you see…" Naruto trailed off.

She raised a brow, suddenly suspicious. The only friend of Naruto's that was supposed to be married by now was... "Your friend, it's not the same one involved with the scandal last year… is it?"

Naruto's nervous laugh was the only clue she needed.

"_Uchiha Sasuke?_" Ino gaped, nearly tipping the vase behind her over in surprise. She had heard about the relationship between Uchiha Sasuke and THE Karin, of course she had. Ino was one of thousands to be completely outraged after hearing of the impending nuptials… that is, up until last year. The engagement was suddenly called off, for the Uchiha heir himself claimed it was due to "complications" but only a selected bunch knew the true reason why.

Karin had been unfaithful.

Ino always knew that woman was no good.

"I'd like to play housewife to Uchiha Sasuke, really I do, but I won't," Ino explained, shooting the blonde an apologetic look. "You're going to have to find yourself another candidate."

"Why not?" Naruto whined.

"Just recently I started dating Shikamaru," Ino answered, smiling to herself as she thought of her lazy boyfriend. "Unless you'd like to tell him that I'm going to dump him for two weeks to act as an Uchiha fraud, I'm sure he'll love _that_."

Naruto groaned in defeat. "Teme's going to kill me."

"Tell you what," she paused momentarily, "I have a friend who's currently in medical school, making her way towards becoming a pediatrician. I know she needs the money to pay her tuition, so I'll relay the information to her and if she agrees you'll be the first to know."

"Hell yes," Naruto breathed in relief, tackling Ino into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"No problem," Ino laughed, her expression suddenly stern. "She's my best friend, so if I so much as smell anything wrong or she gets blamed for anything—it's _your_ ass that's going to get handed to you."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto dismissed her threat, looking ten times brighter than he had prior to walking into her shop. "Sasuke's mom will be here by next Friday, so make sure she knows before then!"

He then headed off with a wave.

"Idiot," Ino muttered, rolling her eyes. After wiping her hands on her apron, she made her way towards the phone and dialed a familiar number. She fingered the patterns on the counter while waiting for the other line, and a smile formed on her lips as she recognized the answering voice.

"Sakura! It's me, Ino."

* * *

_Haruno Residence_

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"No."

"Sakura!"

A woman in her early twenties turned the page of her medical textbook, unperturbed by the obvious distress in her best friend's eyes. Haruno Sakura was no fool, even though she lacked the experience of the real world she had enough common sense to spot a shady situation when she saw one. The predicament that Ino's unfortunate "friend" was currently in spelled nothing but trouble, and she refused to be involved.

"As much as I value our friendship, Ino," Sakura said, looking up from her book, "It's not enough to engage in a make-believe relationship with some desperate guy who doesn't have enough courage to tell his mother he's not married."

"It's complicated, Sak." Ino sighed, grabbing a pillow on the bed to rest her chin on. "And I owe Naruto this." Which wasn't completely a lie, he _had_ introduced her to Shikamaru after all. Well, technically Hinata did but the two were basically the same person.

"Then _you _can play wife, don't drag me into this," Sakura said, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't even know who the guy—"

"He'll pay you," Ino cut in, smirking to herself as Sakura's ears perked up. "Any amount you want. I know for a fact that you have a few bills to pay… and last time I checked, you're heading to graduate school soon so you need all the money you can get."

Sakura remained silent.

After a few moments, she exhaled rather loudly and groaned.

"Ugh, fine," she answered reluctantly.

Ino squealed, immediately digging into her purse. "Here, this is from Naruto," she said, handing the pink-haired woman a manila envelope. "All the information you need to know is there. Oh, and pack your bags—a limo will be here tomorrow at nine 'o' clock to pick you up."

"What? Tomorrow? I barely found out today!" The shock was evident in her voice. "What if I had refused?"

"I knew you wouldn't," Ino said arrogantly, crossing her arms. "Anyways, I better get going. Shikamaru and I are attending a wedding reception, something about his old teacher getting married. I'll call you tomorrow!"

After being engulfed in a tight hug, Sakura saw her friend out the door. As if on cue, a car pulled up into the driveway signaling Ino's departure. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

.

As she made her way back inside, the manila envelope caught her eye. Sakura sat down onto her bed, grabbing the package and slowly opened it—dumping out the contents. Inside was a stack of paper stapled together, along with a yellow sticky note posted onto the front.

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_Haruno Sakura,_

_The bastard wants you to read through _

_this booklet, and uh, the ring should be_

_in the plastic bag. Can't wait to meet you!_

_- Naruto_

.

"Ring?" Sakura muttered questionably, mentally beating herself up for even agreeing to everything. She opened up the booklet, noticing various profiles of different people and her supposed relationship to them. "He really doesn't do anything half-way, does he?" Even the story of how her and her "husband" met was printed neatly under a picture of him.

Uchiha Sasuke… why does that name sound so familiar?

"Might as well get started," Sakura stated, getting into a comfortable position.

.

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Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.


	2. Uchiha Sakura

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Two

* * *

As promised, the sleek black limo arrived outside her home at nine 'o' clock sharp the next morning. Sakura had made sure to read the packet at least twice, reading each biography carefully and memorizing the pictures, making sure she knew every inch of each of their faces down to the hairline. If she wanted to be a doctor, she'd need all the practice she can get—good study habits would be beneficial to her in the near future.

Sakura was currently sitting in the backseat of the limo, after being politely escorted in by the driver who she recognized as Gekkou Hayate. "One person down, and a million more to go," she muttered to herself, unconsciously squeezing the plastic bag in her hands.

Last night after she had finished reading, she had searched for the ring mentioned in the post-it that Naruto had left her. It was in a clear Ziploc bag, sitting innocently on the comforter as if Sakura had placed it there herself. Inside was a ring, 14K white gold with a row of fifteen ¾ princess cut diamonds.

It was absolutely beautiful.

And it had taken Sakura approximately two minutes to realize what purpose the ring served—

.

.

It was a wedding band.

.

_Ugh, nothing like a big fat ring worth a couple grand to show the world you're in love._

She refused to put it on, and had resorted to leaving the small piece of jewelry in the bag she found it in. If her husband demands that she wear it as part of the act, then she'd agree, but until then that thing would remain where it was.

* * *

_Uchiha Estate_

.

"Where is she?"

Naruto instantly panicked the second he saw the raven-haired man's eyes flash red. "H-Hey! You told your driver to pick her up at nine, it's only—"

"It's ten 'o' clock, you dumb shit," Sasuke hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "It's _ten_."

"So she's a little late, no big deal," Naruto shrugged, fiddling with the clock sitting on top of the bookshelf. What was the bastard's problem, anyway? Should've been thankful that he had found someone at all!

"Can we even trust her?" Sasuke snapped angrily, instantly realizing how stupid it was of him to have asked Naruto of all people to do him a favor. "Knowing your lack of brain cells, you could've easily chosen someone bent on clearing out my bank account."

It wouldn't be the first time that a woman tried to cozy up to the Uchiha heir in order to snipe a few shares of his fortune… greed did wonders to a person's morals. Karin had been an exception, having been the heiress of a law firm—she was given almost everything she desired with just a snap of a finger. Being born in a wealthy family had its faults, never truly knowing if the bonds you formed were out of the other party's pure intentions or because of the things you own. Which was why Sasuke preferred to stick around people of the same social status—it didn't mean that they were any less greedy, but he felt it was a safer to be around people with a similar background.

"You worry too much," Naruto retorted, looking completely relaxed despite how tense his friend was. "I trust Ino, Ino trusts whoever her best friend is—so that means you should trust her too! She knows what she's doing."

"I don't see how that matters if she's not _here_," Sasuke snarled, pushing up his sleeve to reveal his wristwatch. "Everything is going to be complete shit if we're stuck waiting here."

"We'll catch up; just need an extra hour or two. Besides, Ino said she was a medical student which means she's pretty smart. Less time to teach her the ropes."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"That would be just fine, _dobe,_ but my mother is going to be here earlier than planned."

The blonde snapped his head up, eyes widening.

"What are you—how early?"

"She's arriving from my father's private jet in less than five hours," Sasuke replied calmly, ignoring the way Naruto's jaw dropped—horrified.

"You… you couldn't stall her for—I don't know—_a freaking week_?" Naruto spluttered, his eyes turning frantic. "We're so screwed! Holy fuck!"

"_Shut up."_

_._

In all honesty, Sasuke did try.

After receiving his mother's call at seven 'o' clock this morning, he had attempted to reason with her, claiming he would be busy throughout the week with meetings. The Uchiha matriarch had waved it off, telling him that if he was busy she would just spend some quality time with her new daughter-in-law—she had yet to meet the young woman, after all. Sasuke had cursed, knowing fully well that if his 'wife' couldn't play the part sincerely, they would be found out—and that was unacceptable.

But there was no arguing with her, the decision was final.

.

"This is just dandy," Naruto groaned, slapping a hand over his face. "Your mother's going to hate me when she finds out her 'dear Naruto-kun' is a liar—"

As if on cue, the sound of the front door opening caught their attention.

.

.

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"Uh, hello?" Sakura called out quietly, feeling incredibly awkward standing in the hallway.

She had arrived more than half an hour ago, but she had pleaded with Hayate to circle the block a few times in order to calm her nerves. Sakura had taken a glimpse at the mansion, noticing the tall silver gates along with the Uchiha crest standing elegantly on top of it. The place was not only gorgeous, but well-guarded, determined to protect the owner inside from any possible intruders and/or threats.

Sakura had felt horribly insignificant.

.

"In here!" shouted a voice, breaking Sakura from her internal musings.

'_Now or never_,' she thought, taking a deep breath before walking into what appeared to be the living room.

The sight that greeted her was surprising, to say the least. There were two males occupying the room, one was leaning his back against the wall with his arms crossed—a look of murder in his eyes, while the other was sprawled comfortably on the couch with his arms behind his head. Had she been more calm and relaxed, Sakura might have laughed at the odd picture they created.

"Welcome Sakura-chan!" The blonde walked over to her, grabbing her hand and shaking it enthusiastically with a large grin on his face. Shooting a look at the other male against the wall, he added, "Told you she'd be here!"

"Thank you, uh, Naruto-san," she replied, noticing that his smile increased ten-fold after realizing that she had recognized him.

Out of all the profiles, his had been the most interesting.

It was a wonder how anyone could love the color orange and eat ramen for days on end, and he had a girlfriend! From what she could tell, he seemed obnoxiously loud and dimwitted… but she wasn't one to judge. Uzumaki Naruto was fairly attractive, his blonde locks messy, and he owned a pair of electrifying blue eyes—the most beautiful shade of blue she's seen.

"Naruto-san sounds old, call me Naruto!" He laughed, clearly excited. "We're friends now, so no need for the formalities. Over there is the bastard, the one you'll be stuck with for a while."

"_Idiot."_

Sakura eyes shifted over to her 'husband,' who had remained quiet throughout her and Naruto's encounter. When Ino had first brought up the story of a friend who needed a wife, Sakura had pictured some washed-out loser with no backbone who hid in his house, shying away from the outside world. But looking at him, she could instantly tell that her original assumptions were incorrect—and that it was evident he came from a rather prominent family.

His aristocratic features were obvious, and he appeared successful…

And proud. Definitely proud.

.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Though Naruto's profile had been the most interesting, she had spent the most time on his—knowing that she wouldn't be able to play the part as his wife if she didn't know him as well as she knew herself. His blood-type, birthday, likes, dislikes, and even his favorite food along with his relationships with the others listed in the folder. The picture provided did nothing to prepare her for what she'd see in person—Sakura didn't know if she ever met such a handsome man.

And judging by the pictures of his parents, he was a spitting image of his mother, who was breathtakingly beautiful. The same raven-colored hair, high cheekbones with the exception of Sasuke's defined jaw, and a nice angular nose along with the same dark shade of onyx eyes. If she had heard correctly, Ino mentioned that he had an older brother that—

_No._

Sakura had a task to complete, and ogling her pretend husband was not going to pay for medical school no matter how much she wished it—neither was daydreaming about her supposed brother-in-law.

.

.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted, a hesitant smile on her face. To be honest, she had debated on what to address her husband when first meeting him. Just plain "Sasuke" would have been a bit too comfortable, but "Sasuke-san" was too formal between the two—so she concluded that "Sasuke-kun" would've been the best bet. The name itself seemed far too familiar for her, but she had agreed to go through with this charade and she'd be damned if she didn't do it well.

"Did you read through everything?" Sasuke asked, the ends of his lips tugging into a frown. Hearing the name "Sasuke-kun" again only reminded him of Karin, and as much as he wanted to correct the pink-haired woman, he knew it was necessary. Of course there was no way in hell that he'd start calling her "Sakura-chan," but having her address him as such would be enough for now.

"Uh, yea—"

"Good," Sasuke rudely interrupted, causing the girl's eyes to narrow a fraction. Walking towards a bookshelf to the right, he quickly grabbed something off of the shelf before he was standing in front of her again. "Here," he said, roughly shoving a small object into the palm of her hand. Taking a closer look at the item, she noticed it was another 14k white gold ring, but in the center was a round ruby—a brilliant shade of red—surrounded by what seemed like fifty small diamonds, all twisted into an intricate design around the gemstone.

It was absolutely stunning, and apparently more expensive than the first one.

_But why did she need this one?_ "Uh, why—"

"You wear it together," Sasuke explained impatiently, already feeling pressed because of the time. "We've already wasted too much time waiting for you, we need to get going."

"Well, _excuse me_," Sakura muttered sarcastically. If she knew what kind of person he was prior to agreeing to this whole stupid thing, she might've rejected the offer. But her future was on the line, and if enduring two weeks with this jerk meant being able to pursue a career in the medical field—then so be it. '_Do it for the money_,' Sakura repeated in her head, resisting the urge to scowl.

Shooting a glare at the apathetic male, Sakura stuck the wedding band under the ruby ring, aligning the two before positioning it on top of the ring finger on her left hand…

.

"We can get it altered later after…"

.

—sliding it effortlessly down her finger.

"Huh," Sakura mused, all of her irritation vanishing as she looked at her hand in surprise. "It fits perfectly."

She heard a small noise coming from Naruto, but dismissed it when he made no further move to say anything. Sakura looked up, catching a strange look in Sasuke's eyes before it disappeared—the stoic expression returning. She turned to Naruto, a questioning look on her face before Sasuke cleared his throat.

"I'll have my maids unpack your belongings and organize it inside the room," Sasuke explained, shooting a look at Sakura before she could protest. "Right now we have to head to Iwa's photography."

Sakura raised a brow.

"Iwa's photography? What for?" she asked, watching as Sasuke disappeared down the hallway—most likely to find his maids.

"Wedding pictures, of course!" Naruto smiled, patting her a little too roughly on the back before walking past her towards the door.

.

.

_Wedding pictures._

Was it too late to go home?

* * *

**Author's Note: **I had actually finished chapter two a few days ago, but I didn't like how it turned out so I completely started over. I've also finished an outline for this story, so it may possibly be twelve or thirteen chapters long. I'm also horrible at describing things, so I provided a link to Sakura's wedding rings in my profile.

Thank you to everyone that have read up until this point, your reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. Dressing Up

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Three

* * *

It was a rather awkward drive on the way to Iwa's Photography, and Sakura was grateful that Naruto decided to tag along much to Sasuke's annoyance. She couldn't imagine being stuck in the car for fifteen minutes with the rather passive male, whose vocabulary only consisted of "Hn" and the occasional "Aa". Naruto began chattering away once the car began moving, most likely to prevent the silence that would've settled uncomfortably amongst the three.

Sakura was grateful for the extra company, but there was only so much she could take.

The drive felt like a million years to the aspiring doctor, and if Naruto's chattering hadn't given her a migraine—Sasuke's constant tapping on the steering wheel did. She tried to understand, she really did. But the tapping managed to grate her nerves, and it only worsened when the time interval between the 'thumps' became shorter. They finally arrived at a rather small establishment, with large letters on the building that spelled out "Iwa's Photography" in cursive. The interior of the building appeared as simple as the exterior, and walking into the automatic doors, she saw one desk located in the center of the lobby.

A brunette woman sitting comfortably behind it, most likely the receptionist, smiled brightly.

"Uchiha-san! Uzumaki-san," she greeted, eyes sliding over to Sakura. "And this is…?"

"Uchiha Sakura," Sasuke answered, dismissing the way the brunette's eyes narrowed a fraction. "I had Hyuuga Hinata call in yesterday about an appointment with Iwa Seiji."

"Mm, of course. I'm Yuki and I'll be your receptionist for today, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask." She winked, flashing a smile at the two males. "Seiji-kun should be waiting inside; it's the first door on your left."

Naruto and Sasuke walked in the direction of the room without a second glance, causing Sakura to grumble in annoyance. _Rude. _Looking at the brunette, she bowed slightly in thanks and smiled—only to receive the cold shoulder. Her brows knitted in confusion, and before she could open her mouth to address the brunette, Naruto had called out for her.

She took one last glance at the desk and headed for the room.

* * *

"Welcome, welcome!"

Sakura was taken back at the exuberant man's welcome, whose aura was so much similar to that of Naruto's. She then realized that he must be the Iwa Seiji who owned the photography business, and managed to politely smile in greeting. He was about a foot or so taller than her, still a few inches shorter than Sasuke but taller than Naruto. He had a head full of jet black hair and the brownest eyes she's ever seen, and truth be told, Sakura felt that if he had not been standing next to Sasuke—he would've been significantly more appeasing to the eyes.

"Ah, you must be Uchiha Sakura," Seiji stated, motioning for her to move forward. She did so, and his hand found its way under her chin to observe her. After a long silence, he released his hold on her and smiled warmly. "A lovely complexion, striking eyes, high cheekbones, a button nose, and your eyebrows arch very nicely. Hm, though you lack the necessary features as a woman with authority, the innocence in your expression is undeniably attractive." He then turned his head towards Sasuke. "You've chosen well, Uchiha-san, wouldn't have expected anyone less."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to smile although inside she was seething with annoyance. Not even two hours have passed since she walked into the Uchiha manor, only to find out that she made a pact with an emotionless man with no courtesy whatsoever. And on top of that, slipping on the rings not only made her the newly Uchiha Sakura—but she was now seen as a trophy wife rather than a person.

Seiji motioning towards the two, though his attention was directed towards Sasuke. "I have the dress you requested, Uchiha-san. Please escort your wife to the room down the hall; I'm sure you remember where it is."

"Aa."

.

.

.

.

Shortly after walking down the hallway, they arrived at a small room. It was similar to that of a dressing room, complete with a vanity and mirror, along with a clothing rack containing a variety of gowns—each a different color. Wordlessly, Sasuke brushed past her to retrieve a black dry cleaner bag that hung carelessly over the couch in the corner.

"When you're finished meet me in the main room," he said gruffly, handing her the bag before closing the door shut behind him.

Sakura huffed in annoyance, glaring at the offending article of clothing in her hands.

_Where is she?_ Sasuke tapped his foot rather impatiently against the floor, eyes closed and arms crossed. Naruto had wandered off somewhere, claiming that there was a restaurant in the building somewhere that he had visited once. After he had dropped Sakura off in the dressing room, Seiji had ushered him into a different room in order to put on the tuxedo he had ordered a few days prior to this meeting.

Sasuke was used to the formal wear, so it had taken little time to put on each article of clothing before he walked to the meeting place. Inside he wore a white dress shirt, covered with a black blazer – single buttoned - along with a matching tie tucked comfortably behind it. To top it off, the slacks he wore were tailored to end nicely above his lace-up leather shoes.

But the weddings pictures were the least of his worries. Sasuke instantly noticed how riled up the young pink-haired woman got after Seiji made the comment about having found a good match for a wife. The way her nostrils slightly flared and how quick she froze gave it away, and had she been unable to control the biting remark that he knew was at the edge of her tongue—he would've had to somehow apologize for her rude behavior. Even the thought of it made him cringe. After meeting Sakura, it was easy to conclude that the aspiring doctor had a bit of a temper problem and wasn't afraid to voice her opinion. Much to his relief, she suppressed the urge to lash out at the photographer but he couldn't guarantee that he'll be fortunate again the next time something like this occurred.

Leave it to his idiot best friend to find someone that was more trouble than it was worth. He might've preferred a money-hungry whore than a feisty doctor with _pink_ hair of all things. But despite her strong-willed nature, it contradicted her appearance—soft and petite, bordering on fragile. If he had been none the wiser, he would've easily mistaken her as someone who constantly needed protection.

.

'_Innocent_,' Sasuke thought to himself, coming to a conclusion.

Still innocent.

.

The question as to how long she'll remain that way living life as an Uchiha lingered in his mind, but as she walked into the room—the long train of the gown following close behind, all thoughts vanished…

And all he could remember thinking about was how delicate she looked.

* * *

How Iwa Seiji found a dress that fit perfectly was beyond her…

Earlier she had slipped on the white gown with ease, and stared in amazement at her reflection. It was a one shoulder organza gown, with soft floral detail, and the dress flowed from her waist down… catching her seemingly non-existent curves. The white brought out her bright emerald eyes, along with her cotton-candy colored hair, and gave color to her pale skin.

Seiji had walked into the room not long after she put on the dress, dragging her towards another room, and it became evident what his intent was after she saw the various beauty supplies. After much consideration, he had ordered the hair dresser to twist her hair into an elegant bun—which was now decorated with diamond clips in the shape of flowers. He also ordered the make-up artist to leave her face as it is, save for a light eye-shadow and mascara that would further bring out her eyes.

And last but not least, she had been given glass heels.

Everything was so simple, and yet at the same time, she looked _breathtaking_.

It was hard to believe that this was the same medical student staring back at her in the mirror.

.

.

.

.

"Let's get this over with! You two will have to step over here by the backdrop," Seiji instructed, grabbing his thick-rimmed glasses. "Now Sakura-san, have your back lean against his chest and Uchiha-san, rest your hand on her waist—No no, a little lower. Ah! There we go. Now please look here!"

Sakura was nervous.

It was the first time that a man has ever been in such close proximity to her, and the very thought was frightening. Even though they weren't married, Sakura was disappointed that she had made no impact on the Uchiha—even a slight nod in acknowledgment would have sufficed. But he treated her with such indifference that it had left her in low spirits… that is, until Naruto walked into the room with a bowl of ramen which he had dropped immediately upon laying eyes on her.

That made her self-esteem rise a bit.

.

.

"Sakura," Sasuke muttered, bringing her attention to him. "Your hand."

She looked at him questionably, before realizing that her hand was still in its position over his cheek. Sakura removed it immediately, as if he had burned her, before breaking her gaze—embarrassed. A silver glint in the corner of her eyes averted her attention to his left hand, and sitting there on his left ring finger was a band that she had failed to notice. _When did he put that on?_ It matched her set though his was a ten-carat gold diamond ring, both complex and elegant... not to mention extremely pricey. It was a single band but appeared as two separate rings, connected together in the center by a three-diagonal diamond with a black accent.

Her fingers shifted unconsciously, feeling her own ring brush against her hand.

* * *

Sakura was waiting silently in the lobby, flipping carelessly through a _Vogue_ magazine that laid on the coffee table adjacent to her. From her peripheral vision, she noticed Yuki—the receptionist from earlier that day—eyeing Sasuke as he sat comfortably in his seat on the other side of the table. Though the brunette seemed immersed in her phone call, it was evident that the look in her eyes was anything but innocent. Sakura had been around college students long enough to realize that that look was filled with lustful intent.

But judging from Sasuke's blank expression, he probably forgot who the woman was... or that he had spoken to her at all. It became apparent to her that although he could be cold and unpleasant towards everyone, women were still attracted to him. And who wouldn't? People had a habit of flocking towards money and power. Sakura would've been stupid not to notice how attractive the Uchiha was, but a beautiful man with a rotten personality just wasn't her cup of tea.

.

.

.

"Teme!" Naruto called out urgently, startling Sakura. "Your mom…she—!"

The two made eye contact, a silent message passing through them.

"How long?" he asked patiently, but before the blonde could utter a reply—the doors swung open, revealing a beautiful woman.

.

"Sasuke-kun! You've grown!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I sincerely apologize for the late update! I discovered a few manga series the past few days and have been too distracted with reading them to concentrate on writing. I've also found out (_though a little late_) that my favorite shoujo Kaichou wa Maid-sama has been turned into an anime, so I've been excited with that. If you haven't read that series or watched it, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Thank you so much for being so patient and for the reviews, they motivate me to write!

.

(Links to Sasuke's band, his tuxedo, along with Sakura's wedding dress is provided in my profile)


	4. Enter Mikoto!

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Four

* * *

"I'm sorry for barging in on you like this," the woman babbled, grasping Sasuke's face in her hands as she grinned. "I arrived at your home and imagine my surprise when the place was empty! Oh! If only your father could see how much you've grown. You too, Naruto-kun!"

"Don't I look hot, Mikoto-san?" Naruto snickered, straightening his posture.

Sasuke slapped the blonde upside the head, muttering an insult under his breath.

"Ah," Mikoto agreed, hugging him. "Your father would be so proud! Which reminds me, he sends his regards! I bet your poor mother is worried sick."

Naruto grinned. "Nah, she's fine. Mostly busy with the Uzumaki Ramen shop that she opened a month ago."

"Kushina always took her love for things to the extreme," Mikoto mused.

"That's my mom!" Naruto beamed.

"Idiot."

Sakura observed the three quietly, careful not to bring any attention to herself.

Thankfully Sasuke had provided her with a biography on his parents; it would've been a disaster had she mistaken the Uchiha matriarch for anyone else. Uchiha Mikoto, a gorgeous woman even in her forties, was wife to Uchiha Fugaku and currently resided in the United States. As the woman talked animatedly to her son, Sakura watched the heir's expression who—seemingly irritated with his mother's gushing—was content and made no move to stop her from her rather… exuberant display of affection.

"You could have waited," Sasuke commented, running his fingers through the tangles in his hair.

Mikoto looked guilty.

"You can't stop a mother from wanting to see her baby," she huffed; her eyes widened slightly as she suddenly noticed Sakura. "And who is this?"

"Sakura," Sasuke answered as his mother's eyes brightened in understanding.

"Oh! This must be…" Mikoto smiled warmly. "Sasuke-kun, you should've said something earlier!"

"You didn't ask."

"Nonsense!" She motioned towards Sakura. "Come here, dear. Let me have a look at you!"

The pink-haired woman stiffened, eyes sliding towards Sasuke who silently urged her towards his mother. She set down the magazine in her hands, smoothing down her clothes as she made a move to stand up. Sakura walked closer to the woman, and found herself tugged by her arm and was instantly engulfed in a floral vanilla scent. She reluctantly hugged back, inwardly relieved that Sasuke's mother was extremely gentle and kind—not at all what she imagined.

"Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," Sakura bowed, after the woman had released her grip.

"Uchiha-san makes me feel old," Mikoto laughed, patting Sakura's head affectionately. "Call me Mikoto! Sasuke-kun told me about your engagement a year ago, but never mentioned anything about the wedding."

"Ah, that's—"

"You wouldn't have been able to attend," Sasuke intervened. "You were in Australia."

"It's the thought that counts!" She retorted, frowning. "What's done is done, but I assume you took a lot of pictures? We're going to talk about this when we arrive back at your house; I want to see the wedding that I missed out on."

"That's why we're here," Sakura interjected, clearing her throat quietly. "Sasuke-kun and I were picking up our photos."

Sasuke glanced at her, before nodding in agreement.

"Is that so? Wonderful!" Mikoto exclaimed, latching onto the girl's arm. "We have much to discuss! Let's hurry along now. Sasuke-kun? "

He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Let me grab the photos. Call Hayate for me, dobe."

"Already on it!" Naruto replied, cell phone in hand.

"Shall we?" Mikoto tugged Sakura towards the front door, already chatting about how lucky her Sasuke-kun was to have such a beautiful wife.

It was hard to imagine that someone as emotionless as Sasuke came from such an energetic and talkative woman. Like one of those unsolved mysteries. But she wasn't one to talk; no one in her family had pink hair. It must be one of those genetically screwed up things that you'd never think would happen but does… like a conundrum.

Which is why the pink-haired medic concluded that it was probably better that she didn't know.

* * *

_Uchiha Estate_

.

"Would you like anything to eat?"

"Sasuke-kun, you've asked me that at least five times already," Mikoto sighed. "Your father made sure that I ate well on that long plane ride. Now, you didn't answer my question!"

Sakura fidgeted next to Sasuke, whom she had taken a seat next to on the love seat. Thinking that taking the wedding pictures with him was already bad enough, Sakura didn't fully prepare herself on how to "act" like a couple with her husband. Her position on the couch didn't give her a good angle to silently communicate with him through her eyes. Earlier when Sakura had first sat down, she debated on holding Sasuke's hand but the idea seemed ludicrous… and judging by his expression, she wasn't looking for an early death wish.

So the poor girl kept her hands folded in her lap.

It didn't help that Mikoto seemed to be watching them like a hawk.

"We vacationed in Milan, Italy after the wedding," Sasuke answered smoothly, completely unruffled. "We spent the weekend there."

"Italy! I've always wanted to visit," Mikoto said to Sakura. "There were a few fashion shows that were held there that I wanted to attend, but my husband—stubborn as he is—wouldn't let me. It's a shame."

"I'm sure you'd love it, it really is beautiful," Sakura assured.

"I bet," the woman sighed.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Sasuke asked, having relaxed though his posture remained slightly stuff.

"About two weeks," Mikoto said thoughtfully. "Your father doesn't like me being away for too long, so maybe a week at the least. He gets very protective. It's not too much trouble is it?"

"Of course not!" Sakura smiled. "Sasuke-kun told me a lot about you, so it's nice that you're finally here."

"Oh, but I assumed…" Mikoto trailed off.

Sasuke cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

It took a few more seconds for Sakura to realize what exactly Mikoto had been referring to. Attempting to distract herself from blushing too much, she grabbed her cup of tea off of the table and took light sips—all the while avoiding Sasuke's eyes. He made no move to say anything, already used to his mother's habit of getting caught up in her own little world.

"Don't mind me! It's just a mother's wishful thinking," she waved off, giggling. "I hope my staying here doesn't hinder any chances of grandchildren in the near future. You are thinking of kids though, yes?"

Sakura choked on her tea.

_Did mothers usually talk to their sons like this?_

"Twenty-three is a bit young, mother," Sasuke stated, patting Sakura's back which caused Mikoto to squeal with delight. "And Sakura is still studying to become a doctor."

"Yes, that's true…" Mikoto said to herself, brows furrowing. "Ah, I guess a few years wouldn't hurt. Perhaps I'll just have to convince Naruto-kun to pop me out some grandchildren! If memory serves me right, he's been dating that Hyuuga?"

"She'd probably faint before they got anywhere," Sasuke commented, smirking.

* * *

It was nearing ten at night when Mikoto decided to retire to her room, claiming that she was exhausted and the jet lag was catching up to her. Thankfully Sakura had managed to relax during their conversations, making sure that she delivered the stories of their "past" as effortlessly as possible. Mikoto seemed to have believed her, and as the talking dragged on, Sakura started to believe it herself too.

She was a tad bit jealous that Sasuke had no problem with it.

His expressions remained guarded and he never hesitated.

It seemed to come naturally for him.

.

.

.

When Sakura entered her shared room with Sasuke, she heard the shower running and decided to change into her clothes before he walked out. Digging through the drawers, she realized that the maids had folded all her clothes neatly, organizing them by color and sleeve length. Most of her luggage had been unpacked, and various pictures of her and Ino had been set on the vanity along with the new wedding picture that laid rather innocently on the nightstand by the bed.

The bathroom door opened, revealing Sasuke in his pajama pants and t-shirt.

"You can use the bathroom," he stated, towel hanging around his neck and hair still dripping wet. He walked past her towards the other side of the room, opening what seemed to be a small closet before pulling out a few white feather pillows.

Sakura watched for a while before walking into the bathroom, carrying out her nightly routine.

.

.

.

It was a while before Sakura emerged from the bathroom, deciding on a last minute shower since she hadn't taken one since last night at her house. She had settled with wearing cotton shorts with an oversized t-shirt to wear to bed, deciding that her usual attire was inappropriate and rather uncomfortable. The only other time Sakura had slept in the same room with another male, was when she was over at Ino's house.

But Shikamaru at that time slept on the floor.

And suddenly she was supposed to sleep in a bed.

.

With Sasuke.

.

"Here," he stated, tossing a pillow at her which she caught.

She blinked in confusion, before noticing that he was putting another pillow in the middle—acting as a wall between the two sides of the mattress. "I can sleep on the floor," Sakura suggested, standing awkwardly by the end of the bed. "And in the morning I'll just crawl back up so your mom doesn't—"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke interrupted, not looking up as he continued to arrange the bed.

"It was just a suggestion," Sakura replied, annoyed.

"She'll know."

"That's ridiculous."

He shot her a look.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to sleep? You're leaving early tomorrow morning."

"What?" Sakura eyed him. "Where?"

"My mother wants to spend some time with you," he replied, eyes already closed. "And stay on your side."

"I'm not going touch you in my sleep," Sakura muttered, hesitantly crawling in the bed.

Sasuke snorted, switching off the lights.

.

.

Sakura remained stiff as a cardboard, afraid that she'd annoy him trying to shift into a comfortable position. It was silent in the room, and the sounds of her controlled breathing seemed awkward and loud. After counting to one-hundred, Sakura was still wide-awake—and uncomfortable.

She didn't realize how exhausting it was to stay still.

"Go to sleep already."

"I am!" Sakura replied defensively, glaring at him before moving onto her side. "I just can't get comfortable."

It became silent once more, save for Sakura's constant movements.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. His mother was observant when she wanted to be, and so far things weren't going as smoothly as he planned—thinking back to the conversation earlier with him and his mother, Sakura was too hesitant in her actions. He noticed right away on the love seat that she was attempting to capture his attention, but always making eye contact would arouse suspicion.

At Iwa's photography, when they were standing with each other—she had been hesitant then, too. Always glancing over when she thought he wasn't looking, seeking his approval for every small action she did. He couldn't have that, so before he realized it…he found himself blurting out—

"Compromise."

Confused, Sakura switched on the light to stare at him. "What?"

"An agreement," Sasuke responded, eyes still glued to the ceiling. "Work to settle—"

"I _know_ what it means," she said hotly, sitting up. "But what do you mean compromise?"

"Stop hesitating."

"What—"

Sasuke shot her a look that signaled her to be quiet. "During the next two weeks we act like a married couple," he started, "and in return I give you whatever it was you needed, but you have to act like a wife to an heir. Things work differently in an upper class environment—spouting insults at anyone wouldn't bode well for my family's image."

"What if they deserve it?" Sakura countered, raising a brow.

"Compromise," Sasuke repeated. "What I gave you, the information booklet with all the descriptions and backgrounds—it means nothing if you can't apply it. Likes, dislikes, habits, etc."

"So you're saying I have to become an expert on the ways of Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked bitingly, noticing how his expression darkened at her sarcasm. He opened his mouth to retort, but Sakura interfered before an argument could start. "Okay. Hypothetically, let's say I agree. Then how am I suppose to know _know_ everything?"

"Observation," Sasuke suggested. "Isn't that the first thing you learn about being a doctor? You can't prescribe the proper medication without observing the symptoms first."

"So we're just going to observe each other?"

"Aa."

In retrospect, what he was proposing was logical.

They needed to work in order to help each other out, because if Sasuke was able to act naturally and she was always second-guessing herself—things would get nowhere. She would be ultimately helping him with his problem by acting like an obedient wife, and in the end she'd have her tuition paid for. It made sense. And although they knew the basics things, they'd just have to learn it again by teaching one another.

It was a compromise.

Which also meant that she'd have to endure any future asshole-y episodes with him in the future, along with people like Iwa Seiji who look at her as a title. Being a doctor and helping others remained one of her life-long goals, so going through with this would be well worth it in the end. There wouldn't be another chance like this in the future for her, so Sakura took it.

.

"Fine," she agreed, earning a nod from Sasuke. "Tomorrow, then."

"Hn."

.

Though a part of her was reluctant, even she had to admit that he was right.

Things wouldn't be able to work if things continued as they were.


	5. Smooth Sailing

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Five

* * *

"Sakura-san…"

"Saaakuuraaa-saaaan…"

.

The timid maid stood there silently, glancing at the sleeping lump on the bed and to the door, alternating between the two every few seconds. Uchiha Sasuke had requested that she wake up his wife before he left for his meeting, but after five minutes of waiting and no signs of consciousness—the task itself seemed utterly impossible. Boldly, the young helper stepped closer to the king-sized bed and tapped softly.

No response.

"Sakura-san?" she tried again, poking the lump with a little more force. "Mikoto-sama is having breakfast downstairs if you'd like to join her."

.

Unbeknownst to her, Sakura stayed still under the covers, holding back a string of curses at having her sleep disturbed. Being the light sleeper she was, Sakura's eyes snapped open the moment Sasuke carefully got up and proceeded to carry out his morning routine. Though she appreciated the fact that he tried to be as silent as possible when rummaging through his dresser, every single noise was like a nail on the chalkboard—not to mention that after he left the room, a persistent bird outside couldn't find it in themselves to be polite and _shut up_.

And finally, FINALLY when Sakura was ready to relax once more… her husband decides to send one of the workers her way. _What was her name again? Mizu? Mi…Mizuho?_ _Yeah, Mizuho._

.

Distracted, Sakura was caught completely off-guard when a particularly rough poke sent a jolt of pain through her side—causing her to let out a low "MMF!" Rubbing the sore spot, she threw off the covers in defeat and came face to face with the rather persistent brunette. Mizuho opened her mouth—ready to relay the instructions no doubt—but Sakura raised a hand up to silence her.

"I know," she sighed, tiredly blinking a few times—eyes adjusting to the sunlight. "Tell Uchih—Mikoto-san that I'll be down in about ten minutes."

"Hai," Mizuho replied, instantly sighing with relief. "And good morning, Sakura-sama!"

"Yeah," Sakura yawned, dismissing Mizuho with a small wave. Glancing over at the clock, she let out a rather loud groan and trudged towards the bathroom.

_9:00am._

.

How she hated waking up early.

* * *

Breakfast went by smoothly, though Sakura was forced to make a large mug of coffee—extra cream—to get her mind kicking into gear. Her movements were still sluggish and she caught herself yawning every few minutes, but Sakura was grateful that she was even able to stay awake much less hold a decent conversation with her mother-in-law.

And here Sakura thought that having to cut down on her sleep was the worst that could happen. It was too bad for her that what the Uchiha matriarch considered "quality time" was taking a cruise on one of the many yachts that the family owned.

.

"How are you holding up, dear?" Mikoto asked, adjusting the beach chair before comfortably leaning back.

Sakura forced herself to smile, though her whole body was fighting a wave of nausea and the urge to vomit. "Good," she gasped, coughing to hide her discomfort. "This is nice."

"I used to take Itachi-kun on these cruises all the time," the older Uchiha explained. "Sasuke-kun got seasick the first time he came; the poor thing didn't even manage to get on the boat yet before he vomited."

"That's hard to imagine." Sakura thought back to the stoic Uchiha, so composed and formal—the image of him throwing up all over the place seemed so absurd and unnatural.

"Ah yes," Mikoto quickly agreed, smiling. "But Sasuke-kun, he's a good person—" She paused. "Well, he _should_ be… I gave birth to him, after all. He's very caring underneath that mask of his, and I'm sure Naruto-kun knows that too—they've been friends for so long."

Sakura listened intently as Mikoto continued talking about her son—mostly to herself—though judging from her expression, she could tell that his mother really loved her family. For a moment, Sakura felt envious of her husband… to have a mother like Mikoto who loved them unconditionally despite their bad quirks and habits—watching over them despite the distance.

"I'm very proud of him…" Mikoto suddenly chuckled in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh what am I talking about? Of course you know this already! I'm glad that he has someone like you to confide in now, I know he's difficult but once you get past those walls… he really is something."

"Yeah…" Sakura echoed, feeling a pang of guilt—though it dissipated within a second and the rush of dizziness clouded her senses. She felt herself grimace, taking deep and slow breaths to hold the queasiness down… but then the yacht hit a particularly rough wave—

.

"Sakura, dear! Are you okay?"

.

And she found herself emptying the contents in her stomach onto the spotless deck.

* * *

When she came to, Sakura felt someone place a damp cloth on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, noticing her husband standing to the side—a look of irritation across his features. It took a few minutes to realize that she was in their shared bedroom, and then suddenly everything that happened earlier bombarded her mind—causing her to remember exactly _why_ she was here in the first place.

The first day she spends time with her new mother-in-law, and she manages to completely humiliate herself by reminding Uchiha Mikoto what she had for breakfast. If there was a way to self-destruct on the spot—it would be really useful right about now.

.

.

"Who—"

"You're really an idiot," Sasuke remarked, reaching for a cup on the bedside table. "My mother said you refused the pills for seasickness."

"I don't get seasick," Sakura croaked, taking the water with a nod of thanks.

"Right," he commented dryly, handing her a small plastic cup that held two Tylenol pills. "For your headache."

"Did you bring all the stuff here?" Sakura asked, motioning towards the bucket of water along with the tray of supplies. "And where's your mother? I want to apolog—"

"No need," he cut in, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "And my mother brought all this stuff here, specifically telling me to sit here until you wake up so I can watch over you." He snorted, handing her a cup to swallow the pills. "And what kind of doctor doesn't know about taking precautions when going on boats?"

"I've gone on boats before," Sakura interjected, shooting a glare at Sasuke. "It just so happens that today was the day I got seasick." She snatched the cup out of his hand, taking a sip. "I can take care of myself, you know—I'm studying to become a doctor. And why are you still here?"

"A careless doctor," he jabbed, quickly glancing out the door. "And one of the maids is watching us."

"Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing him.

"Hn."

.

.

After receiving a call in the middle of his meeting, Sasuke had two choices: One, completely disregard the fact that his 'wife' was at home after throwing up on a boat while looking like an ass. Or two, he could go home—basically taking the day off, and look like a thoughtful husband while he was at it. Of course he chose the latter, it was like hitting two birds with one stone. And it was an added bonus that his mother would go off to visit her old friends in order to give the couple some time alone.

"Are you just going to sit here with me all day?"

"No," Sasuke answered.

Waiting a few minutes for him to explain further, Sakura gave up and proceeded to pull the blanket up to her chin—snuggling into the sheets. Her head was still occasionally throbbing, but the pills she took earlier were beginning to run its course. Feeling drowsier by the second, Sakura's eyes slowly closed.

Sasuke stood there for a few more minutes, watching her sleeping form move as she took deep, languid breaths. He had to admit that it was odd, adjusting his life and daily routine to fit her into it—although it was only the first day since they made the agreement. It took a little getting used to, because for the majority of his life all he cared about protecting was himself. But keeping a close eye on the pink-haired woman and figuring her out wouldn't be a problem. She was extremely expressive in her eyes, and anyone could easily read her if they were attentive enough.

Sakura was an open book, but at the same time, it was her "gutsy" nature that would be problematic. If he was correct in his assumption towards her personality, she wouldn't take a backseat without causing some havoc. The mere idea of having to restrain the girl if things ever drew out to that extent made his head twinge.

It was... annoying, for the most part.

.

But Sasuke was always known for doing what was necessary, his own distaste or like for it hardly mattered—what mattered was the end result.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed the slight bonding between Sakura and Mikoto! I've had to start over with chapter five multiple times because I could never seem to get the beginning right... but hopefully this is okay, and I apologize for the short chapter. I was determined to get a chapter up by the end of this week and I made it!

Thank you to everyone for your reviews! I know I'm a little (_or too?_) repetitive with my words, and I'm trying to shake the habit. I suck at detailed description, but I've been trying to improve by observing other writers. Okay, I'm rambling but thank you again!


	6. Food For Thought

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Six

* * *

Judging by the amount of light from outdoors, Sakura presumed that she must have napped for a good four hours. Although there were still traces of daylight, it seemed that the sun would be setting soon—much to her dismay. If there was anything that Sakura hated more than creases in her clothing and tags sticking out of people's t-shirts, it was letting a whole day go to waste without doing anything even remotely productive. Sitting up from her earlier position, she stretched lazily, cracking a few stiff areas in her back in the process.

Sakura instantly grimaced after recognizing the "dry" feeling throughout her whole body. "Ugh," she groaned, grabbing the cup of water to try and quench her growing thirst. As an afterthought, Sakura looked around the room, straining her ears to try and listen for any signs of life in the house.

Muffled voices were all she could recognize, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that said voices were talking—correction, _arguing_. With a sigh, Sakura kicked the blanket off of her and stood up. In the mood for a quick snack to appease her grumbling stomach, she headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

"When's Sakura-chan waking up?" Naruto grumbled, waiting impatiently for the water to boil for his ramen. "At least_ she_ talks to me."

"Someone has to," Sasuke retorted, adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Although he had taken the day off to "tend" to his sick wife, there were still documents to peruse and papers to sign. Unfortunately, he only managed to run through everything for about an hour before the blonde barged into his house, pestering him until Sasuke left his home office. "Don't you have work?"

"Lunch break," Naruto replied without missing a beat. "Not sure if you've ever heard of it."

"Last time I checked, lunch breaks only lasted an hour," Sasuke said pointedly. "It's been _four_."

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde waved off, smiling brightly as he picked up his chopsticks, shoving noodles into his mouth. "Be-mmf-ides, Shiki-mff-shu is mm-oing every—" Naruto swallowed, "thing."

.

.

.

"Knowing him, he's probably been napping on the job," Sakura interrupted, raising a brow at the mess Naruto was making on the table.

Quickly gulping down the food in his mouth, Naruto waved excitedly at her. "Evening, Sakura-chan!"

"Quit spilling, dobe," Sasuke reprimanded, closing the folder he was working on. He then moved his attention onto Sakura, observing her before clicking his pen and putting it down. "_You're _alive and kicking."

"If the medicine didn't do it, that long nap did," Sakura yawned, taking a seat closest to her. Looking at the piles of folders in front of Sasuke, she raised a brow. "Didn't you take the day off?"

Without looking up, Sasuke flipped a page. "Hn."

"Why are you still working?" Sakura asked, then turned to Naruto when she received no answer. "Why is he still working?"

"Workaholic," he replied cheerfully, sipping the remnants of his bowl.

"Hardly," Sasuke snapped, straightening the stack of papers. "Unlike you, I have responsibilities."

"If you were smart, you'd hire an assistant to do all the work for you," Naruto stated proudly, patting his stomach. "Just admit you like working. No one here's judging you."

Sakura coughed before an argument could ensue, pushing back her chair to stand up. "Do you have anything to eat?" Earning a blank look from the raven-haired male, Sakura corrected herself. "Sorry, stupid question. _What's_ there to eat?"

"Check the fridge."

Ignoring the slight irritation in his voice, Sakura rummaged through the fridge, looking for something to munch on. Grabbing the two red apples inside of the plastic bag, Sakura set it onto the kitchen counter, cutting them into small slices before depositing them onto a plate. Turning back to the fridge, she frowned after digging through the drawers and behind the cartons of milk—not finding what she was looking for.

"You don't have peanut butter?"

"No one here eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," Sasuke informed her, flipping through more papers. "And you're eating apples."

"I know," she said, picking up a slice and eating it. "It's no good without peanut butter."

"Peanut butter and apples?" Naruto asked, his nose twitching in disgust. "That's gross."

"So is ramen," Sakura retaliated, causing the blonde to choke on his noodles.

"H-Hey!"

Sakura small laughter came to a stop at the sound of the front door opening. The three looked up towards the kitchen door as it swung open, revealing a bunch of grocery bags and a small figure behind it.

"Sakura honey! You look better!" Mikoto exclaimed, setting the fresh vegetables onto the counter. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, put the food away for me?"

Naruto agreed right away, carefully removing everything from the bag and putting it on the counter while Sasuke pretended that he hadn't heard anything. "Hey teme," Naruto called out, narrowing his eyes. "Aren't you going to help?"

"I'm busy."

"She asked both of us!" he retorted, almost dropping the box of angel pasta.

"She said your name first," Sasuke said nonchalantly. "Not my problem."

"You—"

"Sasuke-kun!" Mikoto warned, shooting him a look.

"Ha, you just got told off by your mom," Naruto provoked, earning a glare from the other male.

Making sure that the two boys were doing their jobs, Mikoto's eyes lingered on them before turning to Sakura, who was watching Sasuke and Naruto bicker while finishing up her apples. "Did you rest well?" she asked, raising a hand to Sakura's forehead.

"Sasuke-kun took care of me," Sakura assured, attempting to sound sincere.

.

.

"What? You just sat on your ass—"

"_Shut up, idiot."_

.

.

Afraid that her mother-in-law might've heard Naruto, Sakura was instantly relieved when she saw Mikoto smiling happily to herself. "I'm glad!" she said, then lowered her voice. "I made a few stops here and there to give you guys some time alone." Before Sakura could respond, Mikoto clapped her hands together in determination.

"Now," she started, grabbing an apron off the hook. "Would you like to help me make dinner?"

Sakura suddenly felt uneasy. "I actually don't know—"

"It's Sasuke-kun's favorite dish," Mikoto added, causing Sakura to pause. "It's very simple! Just in case you want to cook something for him later on, I'm sure he'd like it."

She nudged Sakura softly with a wink.

Sakura peeked over at Sasuke, who was currently pre-occupied with organizing the food, making snide remarks in between Naruto's chattering. The right thing would be to agree, but the last time she tried to cook a meal, she almost burned down her apartment along with the building itself. It was a good thing that she was close friends with Iruka, the owner of the complex, or else he would have kicked her out the moment the fire was extinguished.

Cringing at the memory, Sakura forced herself to smile.

_Just do it_, Sakura told herself, biting her lip. _Compromise._

"I'd love to."

* * *

After the groceries were all put away, Mikoto ushered Naruto and Sasuke out of the kitchen, claiming that they'd just ruin everything. Sakura thought it was ironic, since she was sure that their culinary skills exceeded hers—if she even had any to begin with. Give her a scalpel and she'd be able to cut with fine precision, but ask her to cook macaroni and you were asking for trouble.

Sakura didn't even want to know _how _she managed to burn noodles in boiling water.

"Now, we'll be making pasta," Mikoto began, handing Sakura the bag full of tomatoes. "Just rinse these and place them in here, and when the water starts to boil a little, take them out, peel and slice."

Sakura went towards the sink, turning on the faucet and began to rinse the tomatoes. Careful not to squash them in her grip, she held each of the tomatoes gingerly in the palm of her hand, slowly rinsing with her fingers. Mikoto stirred the noodles in the pot repeatedly, chuckling softly as she set a hand on her hips, watching.

"They're tomatoes, dear," Mikoto spoke up, concealed laughter in her voice. "It's not going to hurt you."

Sakura flushed.

.

.

.

Setting the rinsed tomatoes in the pot, she turned on the stove and put the lid in place. Sakura glanced over, amazed at how Mikoto chopped the basil with quick accuracy. Although Mikoto appeared childlike and rather immature for her age, cooking was one of the rare times where she looked elegant, and Sakura found herself envying the woman who still looked gorgeous while sweating.

"Are they going to eat all of these?" Sakura asked, gesturing towards the tomatoes. Mikoto had bought two bags of the red fruit (_or was it a vegetable?), _and only half were in the pot while the other was sliced and distributed neatly between four plates, with the exception of Sasuke's. His was given extra slices of tomatoes, taking up a quarter of the plate by itself.

"Knowing Sasuke-kun, they're probably not enough," Mikoto replied in amusement.

And for some odd reason, Sakura believed it.

_

* * *

_

It had taken approximately forty-five minutes to finish the tomato and garlic pasta.

It was a miracle, Sakura concluded, that she managed to come out of the kitchen unscathed. Well, that wasn't _completely _true. She accidentally nicked herself while grating the parmesan cheese, but the cut wasn't too deep so it hardly counted at all. But it was Naruto who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Mikoto's wrath. He had waltzed into the kitchen ten minutes earlier and took it upon himself to "check" on the sauce—almost burning it altogether when he turned the heat higher, claiming that it'd cook faster. The Uchiha matriarch was downright scary when she wanted to be, and the incident was solid proof that she wasn't someone you wanted to mess with.

.

.

.

"So full!" Naruto patted his stomach a good two times for emphasis. "Not as good as my ramen though."

"With the amount you eat each day, I'm surprised that you haven't died yet," Sasuke claimed, eating the last of his tomatoes.

Though Sasuke made no indication as to how the food was, Mikoto had informed Sakura beforehand that the brooding male's opinion lied in how much food was left on the plate. And judging by the spotless dish before him, Sakura came to a conclusion that he liked it more than he put on—but that was only expected, since it _was_ his favorite food.

"Now you won't have to wait for my visits to eat this," Mikoto chirped, taking a sip of her water, smiling secretly to herself.

"Can't you just have one of the chefs cook it?" Sakura wondered, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "They have the recipe, right?"

It was Naruto who answered.

"This bastard here is picky about everything," Naruto grumbled. "If his mom doesn't cook it, he won't eat it."

That wasn't necessarily true.

Sasuke wasn't picky when it came to his favorite dinner, the fact of the matter was, no one was able to cook it nearly as well as his mother.

Though he had one of Japan's most talented chef working under his roof, the pasta never turned out exactly like he wanted. There was always something lacking, and there had been a period where the chef was adamant on finding the missing taste—_going as far as preparing up to twenty plates_—though each one didn't fail to disappoint him. That led him to give up completely on recreating it, choosing to savor the taste of tomatoes and basil when his mother decided to drop in for a visit.

.

.

"Is there anything that you _do_ like?" Sakura muttered to no one in particular, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

Despite accepting the fact that she was no cook and had no right being in the kitchen —_ever_—making dinner for someone and going through all the difficult tasks to see their expression after eating it made Sakura's heart swell with pride. Even more so than having a parent thank her for taking such good care of their son or daughter, or the look a patient gave her after she saved their life. Though she only helped out Mikoto by doing simple tasks, she still felt that burst of pleasure from seeing Naruto scarf down the pasta or Sasuke diligently eating the tomatoes she prepared. It was satisfying to her, to the point that Sakura was hoping for a repeat in the near future.

"I'm sure he'll love anything you make," Mikoto whispered encouragingly, sensing the girl's change in mood.

_Doubt it_, Sakura thought.

But she felt grateful nonetheless for the kind words.

.

.

.

"All right," Mikoto drawled, beginning to gather the plates together. "We cooked, you clean."

The stern look she sent at them left no room for argument.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That macaroni incident? True story. Raise your hand if you're also guilty of being culinarily disabled! Just made that up so not sure if that even makes sense... also, the past five chapters were edited (_heavily?_) to make the plot and relationship flow and appear less awkward. Thank you to one very kind **Unisawr**, for the words and giving me that little "kick" I needed!

Gave you all a little "Sakura" time in this chapter, but when the SasuSaku starts weaving its way in the plot, I promise it'll be worth the wait. Happy belated Christmas, and don't party too hard during New Year's Eve!


	7. The Doctor's Request

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Seven

* * *

"Have you _ever_ washed the dishes?" Sakura asked disbelievingly, dismissing the glare Sasuke was shooting at her.

She was beginning to truly respect the Uchiha Matriarch; being able to strike fear in both Sasuke and Naruto, to the point where the boys were standing over the sink—rubber gloves and all. Sakura knew that growing up in such a wealthy lifestyle had its benefits; being exempt from mediocre household chores was one of them, but it still baffled her that there were actually people who never dirtied their hands.

.

"If there's one thing about Uchiha men that you need to understand," Mikoto started, closing the fridge, "It's the fact that they're so darn _stubborn_."

Sakura smiled amusingly, deciding not to comment that her mother-in-law was an Uchiha too—and just as stubborn.

"When Sasuke-kun was younger, I tried to teach him that learning how to cook and clean wasn't always a bad thing. But that old grump of a husband drilled it into his head that as long as maids and butlers existed, we won't have to soil our hands with peasant work."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "_Peasant_ work?"

"Well, I might have been exaggerating," Mikoto said sheepishly, smiling. "So of course Sasuke-kun would listen to his father and not his poor old mother."

"Jeez teme, even as a brat you were breaking hearts," Naruto snickered, continuing to scrub the plate in his hands.

"Stop splashing the water on me, _dobe_."

.

To say that the raven-haired male was irritated was an understatement.

Yes, he was—_to some extent_—grateful that his mother and Sakura had cooked his favorite meal, but having him wash the dishes in gratitude? It was hardly fair; especially since he had maids sitting around that were more than capable to do the job. That was what he paid them for, and it was a shame that his money had to go to waste—

"Gosh Sasuke-kun, lighten up," Sakura teased, stifling her laugh.

There was just something about him wearing yellow gloves and attempting to look dignified. And judging by the sour look on his face, she could easily guess where his thoughts were heading. If she hadn't witnessed it, it would've been hard to convince her that Uchiha Sasuke could be such a… _baby_, sometimes.

.

"Hey, where do I put thi—"

The sound of the plate shattering startled her.

"Damn it, Naruto, that was _expensive_."

"Sasuke-kun!" Mikoto scolded, grabbing a rag off the counter. "Language!"

"Don't worry, Mikoto-san! Teme's just being a little prick," Naruto replied, taking off his gloves and bending down towards the mess on the floor. "I'll clean it up!"

"Naruto!" Sakura warned, but it was already too late.

"_Ouch."_

Naruto winced, staring at the small shard that punctured his finger. Becoming uneasy at the sight of his own blood, he didn't notice when Sakura hopped off the chair and left the room in a rush.

"Idiot."

"I don't see YOU trying to help—"

Mikoto clicked her tongue, spreading the rag onto the floor to soak up the water. Perhaps it hadn't been such a wise idea to have Naruto wash the dishes after all… "Sasuke-kun," she called, getting her son's attention. "Call one of the maids to clean this mess, I'm going to bring Naruto to the living room."

"Hn," he replied, slipping the gloves off and tossing them on the counter.

.

And while he was at it, he might as well order them to finish cleaning the dishes.

* * *

"Don't move too much!" Sakura reprimanded, using the tweezers to gently pull out the shard.

After seeing the blood that was beginning to ooze from the cut in Naruto's finger, the medic in her had resurfaced and she immediately rushed for the first-aid kit. Sakura knew a lot of things about Naruto… his favorite food, color, hobbies, and his tendencies to knock down anything within a five-foot radius—accident or not. But the one thing she hadn't been expecting was his uneasiness at seeing blood… or more specifically, _his_ blood.

"But Sakura-chan… the _smell_," Naruto whined, looking at the ceiling.

"There," Sakura said proudly, depositing the small glass on a napkin. She grabbed an antiseptic and cleaned the cut with a q-tip, then proceeded to put a band-aid on. "I still can't believe you're afraid of blood…"

"I'm not _afraid_ of blood," he defended. "The color and the smell… it's just—ugh."

"Don't throw up on my sofa," Sasuke snapped, not wanting a repeat of last year's get together that Naruto threw at his house without his permission.

Other than a small "pft," the blonde remained silent.

"Sasuke-kun, I didn't know you had a first-aid kit," Mikoto said thoughtfully, deciding to speak up for the first time since they entered the living room.

"It's actually mine," Sakura answered, embarrassed.

"You have two?"

It was Sasuke who asked.

"Two?" she repeated, momentarily confused… then remembered that she packed one with her luggage—the other had been in her purse. But this was the first time that she had brought out the first-aid kid in front of him… unless—

"Yes, I have two," Sakura confirmed, gazing at Sasuke suspiciously though he pretended he didn't see her. "One for home and one for…"

"Not you, too!" Naruto groaned from beside her; less tense than he was before now that the bandage was secure on his finger.

"I've been wondering what it was that you two had in common," Mikoto chuckled quietly.

Unable to form an intelligent remark, Sakura settled with a "What?"

"You're just as much of a workaholic as he is!" the blonde exclaimed, jabbing his finger at Sasuke. Then began muttering about "psychos" and "soulmates."

"_I am not a workaholic_," the two replied in unison, then immediately shut up, realizing that they were proving Naruto's point.

"Told you," Naruto grumbled to Mikoto.

.

.

.

Sakura was _not_ a workaholic!

"I don't see what's wrong with being prepared," she reasoned, "now _that's_ different. And besides, I didn't see _you_ complaining when I was fixing that cut on your finger."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto waved, unconvinced. "It'd be a real tragedy one day when some kid gets a paper cut and doesn't have that first-aid kit there."

Sakura glared.

"Next time you manage to cut yourself up, I'll let you bleed to death," Sakura threatened.

.

.

"Aw, Sakura-chan! I was just kidding!"

* * *

It didn't take a genius to notice that Sakura was waiting until they were alone to interrogate him; especially since he could practically feel her burn holes in the back of his head on the way to their bedroom. He managed to get his glasses onto the vanity before the door closed abruptly, and Sakura's sharp intake of breath filled the room.

"You looked through my things," she accused.

"It was necessary."

"Necessary?" Sakura spluttered, then her eyes hardened. "Those are _my_ things! What if I had something personal that I didn't want you to see?"

"You shouldn't be keeping secrets," he pointed out, raising a brow.

"That's not the point," she retaliated, angry. "I've been on my best behavior since the moment I got here, played nice with everyone even if they aggravated me, went on a yacht—and I _hate_ boats, mind you…then proceeded to throw up—"

"Because you stupidly refused the seasick pills."

"And then cooked, COOKED…"

"You _volunteered_."

"Even though the kitchen is like my own personal hell," Sakura finished, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "And all this time you were playing 'Uchiha Corporate Leader' and snooped through my things."

"I didn't snoop," Sasuke said eventually, grabbing a shirt to change into—causing Sakura to widen her eyes and look away, face flushing. "Mizuho did."

"Same thing," she mumbled, crossing her arms childishly. "And there's a perfectly good bathroom to change in."

After pulling the shirt over his head and discarding his previous one into the laundry basket, he briefly glanced over.

"You don't like being interrupted."

.

If there was one thing that Sasuke learned when dealing with Sakura, it was the fact that you only had two courses of action: you either pissed her off, or you didn't. So far he had managed to alternate between the two, but not enough to land in her good graces or have her completely hate his guts—not that it mattered, anyway.

It's just that things ran a lot smoother when the two parties have a mutual understanding. And there was also the whole "trust" thing; which was why he ordered Mizuho to look through her belongings, making sure that she was as harmless as Naruto claimed she was.

.

.

.

"Well… this compromise works both ways, and I've been holding up _my_ end of it—"

"Move over," Sasuke instructed.

Sakura scooted over, and continued, "So I was wondering if I can go back to the hospital for work." And after a pause, she added, "And it'll give you time to spend time with your mother… since she _did _come here to see you."

It was silent.

"Did you fall asleep?" She nudged him with her foot.

"No," he grunted, turning to send an irritated look at her.

"Well?" she insisted, deciding that she'd keep him up until he agreed.

Sasuke closed his eyes once more, turning on his side; letting out a mumbled "Hn."

.

It wouldn't hurt for her to go back to healing patients… he had noticed that she'd been on edge lately ever since she tended to Naruto's cut. Probably went into a small withdrawal after being reminded of her duties, Sasuke had assumed—amused. And she may have been right that compromises work both ways, but she had been sorely mistaken when she accused him of only doing what he wanted.

She needed a few days to adjust to her role, and he had given her that—letting her interact with Naruto and his mother until she was comfortable. It would be important; they were the two closest people he had, with the exception of his elder brother and father—but they weren't around so it didn't matter.

And now since he agreed, it made things a lot simpler for when he brought up _his_ request.

.

.

She couldn't believe her luck! He actually agreed!

Sakura secretly thanked Sasuke for not being as difficult as she anticipated for him to be, and she couldn't help the smile that was forming on her lips. The past few days had been torture for her; she loved talking with her mother-in-law, _really_, but small talk was nothing compared to the adrenaline that coursed through her veins when working at the hospital. After she had agreed to play wife for him, she was forced to take a small break from her job—since most of the time she was volunteering anyway, and she didn't need the money since Sasuke was paying her.

But she missed tending to patients, absorbing new information, and observing the surgeries that Tsunade-shishou would let her in on—surgeries that she shouldn't have been watching, but did so with her mentor's permission. Now that she thought about it, it's been a while since she had talked to Ino… tomorrow she'd call the blonde, and maybe they can hang out after she headed to the clinic.

Just thinking about it made her excited—

.

.

"Sakura."

Was she thinking out loud again?

"Huh?"

"Go to sleep," he stated grumpily. "And next time you want to ask me something, don't beat around the bush. It's annoying."

Sakura blinked, realizing that he had turned off the lights moments earlier. "Sorry," she whispered, not earning a response from the male beside her. She smiled to herself, crawling beneath the blankets and turned on her side.

"Night, Sasuke-kun."

.

'_I guess I wasn't as sly as I thought...'_

.

* * *

**Author's Note:** First update for the new year... though two months late. Yes, I spent the day writing seven (_almost eight_) pages for you all! Calculus can wait for another day... and this is totally irrelevant, but I feel enlightened now that I know the proper names of the sentences I've been writing. Nonrestrictive clauses and all that good stuff ~ I was a happy camper in English yesterday... amazed, even.

Also, thank you to **Sha-chan** for the advice! I've had that in the back of my mind, but thought it'd work best once the feelings were there so the arrangement was more noticeable for both of them. Thank you everyone for the suggestions, feedback, etc!


	8. And He Learned

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Eight

* * *

"You really need to get a phone," Ino said, situating the sunglasses on top of her head. "I was afraid I was going to have to perform mission impossible and break you out of that gorgeous house."

"But that means someone will be able to_ reach_ me," Sakura pointed out, taking a sip of her smoothie. "Like… at all times."

"That's the whole point."

"Yeah, _no thanks_."

Although Sakura was able to see her best friend after—has it only been two days?—an eternity, she still harbored some guilt for leaving. Poor Mikoto had made plans to take a short trip to the next country over, but imagine the look on her face when she found the pink-haired girl up and ready to waltz out the front door. Thankfully Sasuke had intervened before the elder Uchiha could drag her off to the next available flight against her will…

_That_ would've been a disaster.

So with Sasuke spending quality time with his mother, Sakura was able to roam freely for the day.

And that's where Ino came in.

.

.

"Get with the times, forehead." Ino picked at her blueberry muffin absent-mindedly, her eyes wandering around the room before it eventually zeroed in on the medic's hand. Her _bare_ hand, to be exact. "Didn't a ring come with this whole package deal?"

"The ring…" Sakura repeated slowly, not realizing what her friend meant until she followed the blonde's gaze. "Oh, _that _ring. I didn't trust myself wearing it outside the house."

"Ugh." Ino scoffed. "What is the point of having a rock on your finger the size of my face and NOT being able to show it off?"

"I don't think a few envious people are worth having in exchange for a huge debt over my head," Sakura replied dryly. "I'm pretty sure that the ring is worth more than me… well, I'm _positive_ it's worth more than me." She paused. "And you. Combined."

"I just still cannot believe you left it at home." Ino groaned as if her life was ending. And it probably was. "If you weren't going to wear it, then damn it, let _me_!"

"Because that would've been _so_ much better."

"I don't know how you live your life," Ino sighed dramatically. "Anyways, is Uchiha Sasuke as beautiful as he is on television?"

"That depends. How good does he look on national TV?" Sakura said carefully, "I wouldn't know—"

"I'm ashamed sometimes to be friends with a cavewoman." Ino rolled her eyes. "He's freaking gorgeous on television."

"That admiration eventually wears off," she pointed out, remembering how rude the Uchiha had been when she first stepped foot in his house. "But yes, he _is_ good-looking."

"Did you find out anything interesting?"

"He likes tomatoes?"

"Nothing new. Where do you sleep?"

"In, uh, our bed."

"Shoot me, please. Does he cuddle?"

"He'll put a restraining order on me if I so much as touched him in my sleep. Really, Ino?"

The blonde was silent for a moment, then leaned in a bit. "Does he have any blackheads?" Ino whispered, not realizing how absurd she looked. "In the photos and interviews, his skin is completely flawless, but everyone and their mothers know how to edit videos and use photoshop nowadays."

"Ino, I don't think—" Sakura earned a just-answer-the-question look from the blonde, preventing her from making a snarky reply. "No, he doesn't. His skin is perfect."

"Double damn," she whistled, leaning back in her seat. "When are you inviting me over for dinner?"

"I guess I'm free on the fourth of never," Sakura said thoughtfully, taking one last sip of her now empty drink. "How does that sound?"

"I'll see if I'm busy."

* * *

Sakura stretched lazily in her seat, feet sore from Ino's "Infamous Day of Relaxation" idea that the blonde had stubbornly insisted on. Of course, the pink-haired medic found absolutely nothing relaxing about venturing through a five-story shopping mall, watching as her friend thoroughly perused every single store and debated on which color of _soap _to buy. By the time they reached the fourth floor where the spa was located, Sakura was about ready to head home and knock out for the rest of her life.

"Feeling relaxed, forehead?" Ino asked, rejuvenated after the hour-long body massage. "Next time you're feeling stressed, don't hesitate to give me a call and I'll whip up another Day of Relaxation."

"I've always heard about massages being a gift from Heaven," Sakura started, rotating her arms in order to loosen the muscles in her shoulders, "but I didn't realize you had to go through Hell first."

"You didn't like it?" Ino looked scandalized.

"I'm extremely sensitive to pain," Sakura explained, cringing as she thought back to the masseuse's rough hands drilling into her back like there was no tomorrow. "Did they really have to squeeze my skin that hard?"

"It's to loosen your muscles," the blonde pointed out, rolling her eyes. "I honestly do not know what to do with you sometimes." Ino sighed once more. "Want to get a pedicure?"

"My feet are ticklish."

"_God, forehead." _

* * *

By the time she and Ino had decided to part ways, half of the day was gone and Sakura still had yet to visit the hospital. Due to her acceptance of Sasuke's fake marriage proposal, Sakura reluctantly stopped her work as Tsunade's apprentice in order to focus all her time on playing wife to Uchiha Sasuke. Although her current "job" gave her a big fat salary in return, it didn't give her the same satisfaction as working in a hospital did.

.

.

.

"About time you showed your face around here." The woman smiled. "You're looking like shit. Having a rough time adjusting?"

"Ino," Sakura said, as if the name itself explained everything. And it did. "Infamous Day of Relaxation, she called it."

"That blonde was always something else…" Tsunade shook her head, taking a sip of her tea. She eyed Sakura, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Are you allowed to be here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want this hospital to be unnecessarily infiltrated with authority figures, all because a certain pink-haired medic decided not to inform her husband of her whereabouts," her mentor answered smoothly, reaching under into the drawer for a small bottle of sake. "But other than that, you know you're always welcome."

"You knew about that?" Sakura asked, cringing inwardly.

"I may not be sober half of the time but I'm not deaf," Tsunade replied, taking a small gulp from the bottle. "Though I'm a tad bit disappointed that I had to hear the news from the gossiping nurses instead of from my cute little apprentice." She cleared her throat, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her arm. "But, I presume that congratulations are in order?"

Sakura smiled, thanking her albeit half-heartedly.

Tsunade was one of the—if not _most_—respected surgeon throughout the country, although to the aspiring doctor, the honey-eyed woman was more of a mother in her eyes than anything else. When Sakura had requested to be temporarily relieved of her duties as a volunteer, she used "business matters" as the primary reason, which wasn't too short of a stretch from the truth. There was something about leaving her position as an apprentice to the number one surgeon in Japan, only to take up the role as Uchiha Sakura for two weeks.

Sakura would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of what her mentor would have to say about that.

"So, what can I do for you today?"

"I haven't helped an ill citizen in about a week and I'm developing symptoms of a nervous breakdown," Sakura answered, laughing with small hints of embarrassment. Still feeling the soreness in her muscles, Sakura rotated her shoulders at an attempt to ease the pain. "Anything I can do today that doesn't require difficult patients?"

"By any chance, does curing your nervous breakdown apply towards doing some paperwork?"

"And by 'some,' you really mean 'a shit load' right?"

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me so well," Tsunade mumbled, pulling a folder from underneath a stack of papers. "Unfortunately for you, all the files I have right now are standard check-ups, which are easy enough tasks for two of my available nurses." She closed the manila folder in front of her, gesturing it towards Sakura. "However, I do have a surgery occurring in about an hour which you can either silently observe or scrub in for."

"Surgery?" Sakura made no attempt to hide her surprise.

"No difficult patients, remember?" Tsunade smiled. "As far as I know, unconscious patients don't fall under that category. And you've scrubbed in for all of my previous surgeries – now shouldn't be any different."

"But you were there," Sakura reasoned, still unable to wrap her mind around the idea. Usually she wouldn't doubt her own abilities as a medic student, but even the thought of potentially screwing up made her stomach churn. "_Supervising_, as a matter of fact."

"I wouldn't trust anyone else." Tsunade raised a brow. "Has that Uchiha been that much of a controlling prick that you're starting to second-guess yourself?"

"Well, no, but –"

"Which reminds me," she interrupted, "You're not pregnant, are you?"

Sakura almost choked on her spit.

"Shishou!"

"One night of tango dancing taken a step too far, maybe?" Tsunade asked innocently, giving herself an imaginary pat on the back at the sight of Sakura's flushing cheeks. "It _is_ a tad bit suspicious that you've been working under my wing for a good year or so, yet not once have you mentioned Uchiha Sasuke's name. It would only make sense for a sudden marriage to occur out of an unexpected pregnancy."

"Whose surgery will I be scrubbing in for, again?" Sakura huffed angrily, her face still red as a tomato.

.

.

.

Tsunade laughed.

* * *

Sasuke loved his mother, but a whole day of "quality time" as Sakura had put it, was evidently – too long. Visiting various cities of Japan throughout the day and shopping at the market may have been relaxing had he more patience and less work to do, but putting off the paperwork for even one hour was bound to leave him completely swamped for the following week. His mother must have sensed his discomfort – or noticed the way he kept checking his watch every five minutes – so she proceeded to call it a day after six hours of mindless wandering at little shops and tourist sites.

Next time, _if_ there was a next time, he would have to reconsider letting Sakura have a "free" day. Or maybe next time the three would be able to go together, so if something were to come up in the midst of it, he could easily sneak away without upsetting his mother. Because the Uchiha matriarch – though he hated to admit it – reminded him of his idiot best friend, albeit more intelligent and could actually take a hint. So unlike the blonde, who would forever remain clueless unless you told him straight to his face – but even then, it wasn't likely he'd even listen, much less comply.

Now that he thought back to his wife, where the hell was she?

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall opposite of him.

.

_8:00._

.

Surely a day out with her friend – he didn't care enough to remember her name – didn't take that long. Usually the whole "catching up" concept would be over and done with at a nearby café, following a good amount of coffee and pointless gossip. Sakura didn't seem the type to indulge in those useless things, although judging by the little information he obtained about her friend, the medic would be kind and patient enough to go along with whatever her friend wished.

But that would only take about five hours… unless she decided to take a detour and stop by the hospital to observe a procedure.

'Or five,' Sasuke thought dryly.

If Sakura was anything like him, she would need to be physically hauled away from her job.

.

.

.

The sound of the front door opening broke him from his thoughts.

* * *

When Sasuke finally made his way downstairs, the last place he imagined Sakura to be was curled up on his couch – his mother glancing over worriedly every few seconds, her favorite television show neglected. At his sudden appearance, Mikoto eyes showed obvious relief though her face was still marred with a frown, flitted with concern. His eyes slid to meet his mother's in silent question, but she made a small shrug with her shoulders and tapped her lips, signaling that the pink-haired woman had refused to talk.

Mikoto reached for the remote, shutting off the television with a click and wordlessly left the room, giving him a reassuring touch on her way out. Leave it to his mother to have faith in her apathetic son when it came to women and their unpredictable moods.

He sighed.

Sakura remained silent, staring at the blank screen.

It was obvious that she wasn't talking anytime soon, and the sooner this little predicament was over with, the sooner he'd be able to sleep. And he knew for a fact that his mother would kill him with her own bare hands if he completely disregarded Sakura's feelings and told her to "get over it." Thinking back to his father's actions when his mother lapsed into her "moods," Sasuke searched for something that didn't leave the Uchiha matriarch furious with threats.

"How –"

"I'm going to sleep," she said suddenly, her voice lacking its original chipper tone. Sakura got up slowly, though paused to utter a quiet, "Good night, Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura."

She stopped beside him, still facing the door, tilting her head – waiting.

Seeing her like this, her eyes vacant. It didn't suit her.

"What happened?"

Silence.

Sasuke turned towards her, observing her expression, though she made no move to acknowledge him. Maybe she got into a small argument with her friend? No, if that were the case, she might have gone home angry and vent to anyone with ears – whether they were willing to listen or not. A small headache began to form as his patience was slowly dwindling, and suddenly a thought occurred.

The hospital.

If she _had _stopped by the hospital like he thought she would, then something must have occurred there. Sasuke then jumped to the only conclusion that would make her react so horribly, and by then, Sakura's whole body had stiffened.

.

_He knows._

._  
_

"Sakura," he began, trying to think of the right words to say, but then clamped his mouth shut.

As a child, Sasuke learned the ropes on how to establish a business, how to compromise, and how to make decisions that in turn work in his favor. Money, stocks, managing – that he was accustomed to, to the point where it became as easy as breathing to him. But throughout his life he never imagined death or came so close to facing it, never had to deal with losing someone important.

The very idea was foreign to him.

_So how do you console someone so overwhelmed with grief?_

.

.

"Akira," Sakura said quietly, her voice coming out as a whisper, cracking at the end.

"Who –"

Before Sasuke could register the name or why she had said it, her shoulders began to shake, though from her clenched fists – he could tell that she was doing everything she could not to break down in front of him. Sakura's efforts rendered useless when a sob escaped her lips, and she brought her hands to cover her mouth, her eyes firmly shut as tears traveled down her already damp cheeks.

For a few minutes, Sasuke watched her cry into her hands, body shaking with the sheer force of her sobs. Hesitantly, he reached a hand towards her shoulder, causing her to open her eyes – staring at him questioningly beneath the blur of her tears. And before he realized what he had done, his arms were wrapped around her in an embrace. She became still, though her sobs didn't lessen, but eventually she relaxed – fisting his shirt and crying into his chest.

When he was younger, Mikoto used to hold him, comforting him after a particularly horrid nightmare as he cried himself to sleep. His eyes softened as he – awkwardly – patted her back, finally understanding that sometimes talking about it isn't the only and best solution.

.

.

.

So he held her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** As you can see, I still have no idea if I managed to pull this chapter off - emotions and all - but I tried. I had to go into Sasuke!mode to write the last scene, so hopefully he isn't OOC... if he is, I have failed you. And myself.

Thank you everyone for waiting and reading! Summer vacation, anyone?


	9. Fighting for Nothing

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Nine

* * *

It was a little past five 'o' clock in the morning when Sasuke was jostled from his light snoozing.

In the midst of his comfort-attempt on Sakura, the two had somehow made their way onto the couch, his 'wife' having fallen asleep on his shoulder with his right arm tucked safely around her. His eyes snapped open, taking a moment to blink away the feeling of sand prickling his eyes. Sasuke tilted his head to look at the slumbering girl beside him, realizing that she had unconsciously woken him up with her crying again.

It was hard to ignore her hiccups and trembling.

Not to mention his arm was painfully sore. And numb.

.

.

.

Pulmonary embolism - that was what she had called it.

Hearing the word the first time from one distressed Sakura didn't spark any type of recognition within him. During her emotional breakdown, she had uttered various words - names - he didn't recognize. Medical terms, names of nurses, doctors, surgical machines, and tools that eventually lead to the death of a kind young boy by the name of Yamato Akira. She cried and shook and held onto him for dear life and he could do nothing but listen and comfort her the only way he knew how.

Just a simple leg fracture, she had said. And within a moment's notice, everything began to crash around her and all she could do was watch and watch and _watch_.

Unknowingly, Sasuke's grip on her tightened.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long she laid there on the couch - still and impossibly silent. Glancing over at the clock sitting innocently on the shelf, she realized it was noon and that she had no desire to get up. Or even move. The initial shock had eventually worn off along with the heart-wrenching pain of being so _weak_, though what was left made its way deep into her gut in the form of a guilty conscience.

.

"_Don't worry, you'll be done in no time!"_

.

How utterly and horribly wrong Sakura had been.

She could still hear him fighting to breathe - gurgling - and then there was nothing.

The grief, it wedged itself in her heart - an unwelcome presence. A constant reminder that she did nothing, had the ability to do nothing. Useless, useless, _useless_. Sakura wanted to lie there on the couch and have the ground swallow her whole, but the funny thing about life was, it was going to continue on - with or without her. Wasting away in her own world where Akira was still alive, a world where she had the power to save him - to rescue him from death. All the while Ino will continue to arrange flowers, Mikoto will return to her husband, and Sasuke... Sasuke will continue running a business that he worked his whole life for.

Death, death was expected; they spent their lives preparing for it, living their life to the fullest yet why did it still manage to catch them off-guard?

A quick pull of the carpet under your feet and you spend the rest of your life trying to find that balance.

Sakura closed her eyes, drowning out the images - hoping she could just—

.

.

"Oh, no you don't!" A voice suddenly chirped, and before she knew it, she was situated in a sitting position and being fussed over.

_There._

A flash of anger flickered within her.

"What are you doing?" She couldn't help the biting tone laced in her words.

"You've been moping around all morning," Mikoto reprimanded, dragging Sakura up by her hand, pulling her up the staircase - her grip tight though not enough to bruise. "We need to get you out of these scrubs and into some nice, clean clothes."

"No."

The word slipped out before she could stop herself.

Mikoto stopped, turning around to stare, eyebrow raised.

"Sakura. Dear, you - "

"No," she repeated, pulling back her hand with a sense of urgency. "I said _no_. Someone died -" Sakura took a shuddering breath. " - a boy, he _died_. Doesn't it... doesn't that mean anything - anything at all - to you?"

A part of her felt ridiculous - crazed, even.

But Mikoto didn't understand; _they _didn't understand.

_It was all her fault._

She was there and she couldn't do anything, and before she knew it he was struggling, gasping, and oh God -

"People die all the time," the Uchiha matriarch said softly, attempting to soothe the near-hysteric girl. "There's nothing you and I can do about it—"

"I took an oath," Sakura snapped, tears brimming her eyes out of sheer frustration - frustration because no one _understood_. "An oath. And I couldn't - couldn't..."

"Sakura."

He was there.

"Calm down," he said sternly, grabbing her upper arms with both hands.

And in that split second - all the pain, hurt, and helplessness escaped and turned into fury.

"I can't calm down! I'm losing patients that aren't even old enough to know what they want in the world yet, and I'm supposed to be a doctor?" Sakura yelled, biting her lip to suppress a sob. "What's the point? What's the _point_?"

Silence.

"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Sasuke said slowly, his voice low. "You become a doctor to help patients, people; no one expects you to sa - "

"I let him down," she hissed. "His parents, they're grieving and alone, and I can't - _just can't_.".

A slap resounded throughout the empty hallway.

Sakura's face stung with the impact against her cheek.

"Stop," Mikoto ordered, not feeling the least bit sorry for what she had done. "You are not ruining your life over something that _can't _be changed. It happened and you will grieve, and no matter how sorry you are, there is nothing more you can do. So either you go take a shower willingly, or so help me God, I will forcefully do it myself. "

All the words she had planned to shout died at the tip of her tongue.

_There is nothing more you can do._

Wasn't there anything? Something? A part of her clung to this hope, that maybe if she had known beforehand... but she didn't know, did she? It was her job, right? No, no it wasn't supposed to be her. Maybe if she could have recognized the symptoms, if she had known, she could have told—

"Stop fighting, Sakura."

.

There is nothing more you can do.

Nothing more you can do.

_Nothing you can do._

.

"It's okay," Mikoto whispered, wrapping her arms around a shaking Sakura.

When had she started crying?

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

.

.

.

She didn't resist.

But the dreaded feeling of acceptance hovered dangerously above her.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent mostly in silence, Sasuke having dismissed all his staff for the day in consideration for Sakura, who had barely spoken since the breakdown in the hallway. Mikoto had been determined to keep her daughter-in-law distracted, whether it was through light conversation - mainly one sided - or by forcing the unresponsive girl to watch television, teach her how to knit, etc.

And Sasuke - Sasuke locked himself up in the room and continued to work.

.

.

.

"Alright! Soup it is!" Mikoto exclaimed, tying her apron while she dug through the cupboards. She paused, eyeing the various cans and boxes. "I'll have to take a trip to the store." Mikoto looked over and frowned. "No, no. Hm, I'll just call someone. I'll just be a moment, so don't go anywhere."

Sakura moved to rest her head down on the table, her face turned towards the window.

When did the sun set?

She should just go to sle—

"Have you eaten?"

She looked up, slightly surprised to see Sasuke there.

It looked like he was taking a break from his duties, his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, an empty mug of coffee in his hand.

"I - "

Her hesitance was all he needed.

Sasuke made his way towards the fridge - setting down the mug - digging through a couple of drawers before pulling out two apples. She watched as he made nice, clean cuts, organizing them into rows on a plate before handing them to her.

A part of her hoped that he would leave, but he stood there - waiting.

It wasn't until she reached over and took a small bite that he turned to make coffee for himself.

When he was finished, he walked past her, stopping mid-step - contemplating. It was a light and brief touch on the shoulder, but it shocked her all the same. And then it was gone, the warm feeling.

.

.

.

She stared at the plate of apples momentarily before her eyes slid over to the new object sitting innocently beside the fruit.

A jar of peanut butter.

.

.

"Sorry for taking so long!" Mikoto rushed in, a bag of groceries in her hand. "I asked Mizuho to be quick, but of course, she saw the sales and wanted to get my opinion on the - " She stopped. "You ate already?"

"Sasuke-kun... he took a break from work," Sakura answered, her throat dry and still flitted with emotion.

"Well! I'll just have to cook you some of my soup!" she replied cheerfully, happy that there was progress, however little. "My grandmother used to make me this when I was younger, she - "

Sakura tuned her out, nodding in the right places to pretend that she was still listening, her eyes glued on the jar of peanut butter. After a few more seconds, she reached over and opened it - dipping her apples into the jar and savoring the taste.

It was familiar.

And for a moment, she was able to forget.

* * *

It wasn't until later when they were both ready to sleep that Sasuke saw Sakura again. She was already in bed by the time he decided to turn in, carrying out his routine before settling himself into bed. He would've believed she was already fast asleep had he not heard her small sniffles. Sasuke was thankful towards his mother, who had been stubborn with Sakura, pushing him towards finishing his work while she took it upon herself to help the crying girl.

He was new to this, and if he were in Mikoto's place, what would he have done?

What could he have done?

It wasn't him - comforting girls on couches and listening to them cry their eyes dry, body shaking too much to breathe correctly... it wasn't him. But he could offer his silent support, his presence. Sasuke didn't probe for more information, didn't ask her questions—he was just there.

And that, in itself, was enough.

.

.

.

Sakura shifted onto her back, waiting a moment before she spoke.

"I'm sorry..." she said slowly, then a soft, "and thank you."

Sasuke let out a small "Aa" in response.

He turned onto his side, getting into a more comfortable position.

Sakura remained on her back, mindlessly counting the small bumps on the ceiling.

.

.

"Sasuke-kun?" she called out hesitantly.

"Hn?"

"Do you think there's a heaven?"

For a while, he didn't answer, choosing only to sigh quietly.

"I don't know."

Strangely, she was satisfied with that.

.

.

.

One day, gone.

A lifetime more to go.

* * *

**Author's Note:** My puppy, he died yesterday... and I just, really needed to write. This chapter is dedicated to Kovu - my puppy - and my sister, because she really needs it. Cherish everyone and everything around you while you still have that chance.

Thank you for being so patient, and I wrote everyone in-character as much as I could. But can anyone be themselves in situations like these? Maybe. I don't know.


	10. A Change

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Ten

* * *

Though a couple days have passed since the whole emotional breakdown in the living room, it was slowly starting to sink in how kind Sasuke had been and how humiliating it was for her to cling onto him like some … _child_. The first few days were difficult, having to cope and finally coming to terms with Akira's death and just putting one foot in front of the other. It was difficult to get up in the morning at times, and a part of her was still hurting even now, but having Sasuke and Mikoto there made it all a bit more bearable.

And she could finally_, finally_ sleep easier now.

But things were just a little - okay, _really_ - awkward around Sasuke.

It had been about four days and it was a challenge to even look at the man, much less sleep at night without feeling totally weird.

.

.

.

_"It would've been nice if you gave me a heads-up before crying like a madwoman on the phone."_

"Sorry," Sakura replied, her face flushing. "I didn't mean to... uh, you know."

"_She's human!" _Ino joked, earning a laugh from Sakura._ "But are you okay now? I was really worried."_

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just needed a little time," she replied, walking around the shared bedroom, lightly running her hands over the furniture absentmindedly. "But Sasuke-kun, he was oddly comforting..."

There was a pregnant pause.

"_Run that by me again?"_

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura repeated, this time more quietly. "He comforted me. Well, it's hard to just leave a hysterical girl alone but still. It was... nice of him."

"_And?"_

"And... what?"

"_Well?"_ Ino prodded. _"Are you guys..."_

"No!" she denied a little too quickly. "It's just weird. And er, uncomfortable."

"_Because you broke down in his living room and he gave you a pat on the back?"_

Silence.

"_A hug?"_ Even more silence. _"Did you fall asleep... in his arms?"_

"It sounds really fruity when you put it like that," Sakura hissed into the receiver, picking up a small card from the dresser, balancing her cellphone between her shoulder and ear while she opened it.

"_Aw! My little baby is growing up!" _Ino faked a sniff, though it sounded more like a snort as the blonde tried to keep her laugh in.

"Funny." Sakura scanned the contents, her brows furrowing when she realized what the card - or rather, the invitation - was about. "Hey, I'll call you later?"

"_Something came up?"_

"It's nothing. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"_Okay, don't forget! Bye Forehead!"_

She tossed her cellphone onto the bed, making her way downstairs where she knew Sasuke would be, the invitation tucked safely under her arm.

* * *

"I heard," Naruto said as quietly as he could, stirring his bowl of ramen. "Is she... uh, okay?"

"Ask her yourself," Sasuke replied, his eyes remaining glued to his laptop. "And how the hell did _you_ find out?"

"Ino," Naruto answered, followed by a 'Duh, teme.' "Sakura called her, _crying_. Ino thought it had something to do with me because I am, and I quote, 'An insensitive jackass who needs to back off of Sakura because society already puts too much pressure on us women.'"

When the blonde didn't elicit so much as a grunt of acknowledgement, he began to ramble some more, taking it as a sign to continue.

"And she _did_ threaten to end me if I so much has hurt Sakura, so I ran straight here the morning after to dropkick you and... surprise, surprise. The teme and his pretend wife is snuggling on the couch like an old married couple," Naruto said accusingly, feigning hurt. "You didn't tell me you had the hots for her! Right on! Making your move when they're vulnerable. Nice."

"What are you_ on_?" Sasuke snapped, his eyes flickering towards the door, making sure that Sakura wasn't around.

"It's not the approach I would've personally used," he continued, slurping his ramen with more vigor. He stopped mid-slurp, gulping down a quick bite before adding, "Does she know?"

God, why was he friends with this idiot?

"Know what?"

"That you like her," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't like her," he replied, trying to ignore the dumb looks that the blonde was throwing at him.

"She invaded your personal space," Naruto pointed out. "and you didn't stop her."

"It's called comforting someone, you pest."

"So you DO like her."

"Are you deaf?" Sasuke said angrily, "I don't_ like_ her."

"That's so mean..."

"Well, maybe if you learned to shut the fu—"

"—don't you think so, Sakura-chan?"

.

.

.

Sasuke stiffened, glancing over at the doorway and - sure enough - there was Sakura, who looked guilty for walking in on their conversation.

"Um, hi," she said rather lamely, hiding the invitation behind her back.

"Afternoon!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, pulling out the chair beside him while giving her a quick onceover. "Want some ramen? And uh, nice pajamas."

"It's okay... and thanks," she answered slowly, drifting towards the counter in an attempt to cover her purple pajamas. Originally she was going to change - and now she wished she had - but it would've been an absolute waste since Mikoto was gone with her friends and she never went anywhere with Sasuke anyway—

"There's food in the fridge," Sasuke said, turning back to his work, not realizing that he was typing uncharacteristically fast.

"I'll just... grab an apple," Sakura replied, opening her mouth to ask about the peanut butter when Sasuke pointed at the cupboard above the stove. "Er, thanks."

"Hn."

.

.

.

"I don't know how you managed to do it," Naruto muttered under his breath. "But I feel super awkward now."

"Shut up."

* * *

"So..."

"You didn't tell me that there was an event tomorrow," Sakura said suddenly, spreading peanut butter onto her slices.

"What event?" Sasuke looked up, raising a brow.

"The Hyuugas?"

Naruto choked on the ice he was chewing, spluttering a bit before swallowing it.

"You didn't tell her?"

"Apparently not," Sasuke said sarcastically. "Why do you have that?"

"It was on the dresser..." Sakura said, then, "I wasn't snooping! I was just talking to Ino on the phone and it was there, so I just kind of... picked it up."

"Sounds like snooping to me," Naruto butted in, earning a kick in the shin from his friend. "Ouch! What the hell?"

"Were you planning on going?" she probed, taking a bite and chewing slowly.

Sasuke didn't answer, waiting for a while until, "No."

"Princess won't take this well," Naruto half-sang. "And I'm not talking about Tenten."

"He'll get over it," Sasuke grumbled, closing his laptop with a sigh.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, persistent. What was the big deal? A gala didn't seem like such a bad thing to attend, especially since his company seemed to be the one sponsoring it. But she guessed that with her being so vulnerable the past few days with the whole—

"You weren't going to attend in the first place," she stated, narrowing her eyes. "Because of me."

"I hate going to parties," he retorted, ignoring Sakura's gaze.

"No, you don't," Naruto said. "Especially not something like this where the princess needed your help." He looked over at Sakura and added, "They're always at each other's throats."

"I'm okay," Sakura reassured, wiping a spot off the table with her finger. "I wouldn't mind going."

Their eyes met for a moment before he turned back to his paperwork.

"Pass."

"You know, this whole compromise thing isn't going to work if only one person benefits."

.

As much as she was touched that Sasuke would take her feelings into account, she signed up for the whole Uchiha wife business determined to do her part and do it well. Sakura didn't believe in having everything handed to her on a silver platter, and as much as she knew that the money Sasuke would be giving her in return would do little to phase him, she still wanted to stay committed to her task.

And it was the least she could do for him after all he had done for her.

.

"Are you really complaining about me not receiving anything in return?" Sasuke snorted.

"Of course I am," Sakura snapped. "So I had a small lapse in judgement a few days ago, but I'm perfectly capable of attending this little gala now. More than capable."

"And this is coming from the girl in cupcake pajamas?" Sasuke drolled. "Tacky."

"That's not what you said last night!"

Naruto's eyes almost bugged out of its sockets.

"_What about last night?"_

"I don't recall commenting on them."

"You said they were 'nice.'"

"No, _you_ asked me if they were nice."

"And you said 'hn!' which means you agreed."

"I was tired."

"But you were still awake enough to respond!"

"Hn."

"See?" Sakura said, triumphant. "So tomorrow?"

"Whatever."

"Thought so."

Sakura dumped her empty plate into the sink, then headed out of the kitchen, determined to get a head start on her wardrobe.

.

.

.

.

"Teme, what the hell just happened?"

"Shut up."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone, for the kind words! I truly appreciated it. I know this chapter seemed like such a huge jump in terms of mood, but I wanted things to be more lighthearted although I feel like the transition could've been done more smoothly? And the chapter less... choppy. I've been sick at home and finally found the inspiration to write so, here we are.

Also, I'm working on a new fic though it'll be KibaSaku (gasp!) so hopefully I can pull it off. It'll be my first, so keep an eye out for that!


	11. Preparations

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Eleven

* * *

Trust Mikoto to drag her off to the nearest outlet after coming home and finding her digging through two suitcases worth of clothes. Sakura would have been absolutely fine with wearing one of her old party dresses that Ino had picked out for her two years ago, but her mother-in-law insisted that the dress was too "conservative." If anything, the glittery silver dress that she was currently wearing screamed out—

"I look like a whore," Sakura mumbled, pulling the hem line down over her thighs. She was positive if she even attempted to bend over, the dress would expose parts of her that even _she _would be ashamed to see. "That red one we walked by earlier was nice."

"'Nice' isn't going to give me grandchildren," Mikoto chirped, zipping up the dress rather roughly. "And don't be so shy! If I had a pair of stunning legs like yours, I'd show them off!"

_Be my guest._

"You know," Sakura started, trying her best not to fidget, "since this _is_ a company party, don't you think it'd be a little inappropriate for me to be... flaunting myself?"

"Only the women would find it inappropriate," she replied thoughtfully, swatting Sakura's hand away when she tried to pull the dress down again. "But the majority of them are either married, engaged, or widowed..."

"Won't _Sasuke-kun _mind?" Sakura pressed.

"Hopefully," Mikoto said cheekily, standing up after making a few adjustments. "He's never been a fussy child, but what I wouldn't do to see him fighting off your admirers when they see you in this dress..." She sighed dreamily. "Perhaps he'll get a little impatient and ta—"

"Mikoto-san!"

"Just kidding," she laughed, winking. "You're very easy to tease."

.

.

.

_My mother-in-law is insane_, Sakura concluded, her face still hot from the woman's earlier comment. Honestly! As if wearing such a revealing dress would elicit such a strong reaction from him. But Sasuke _had _been engaged before... what type of woman was his former fiancee? Probably more voluptuous and had twice the self-confidence. Her hair definitely would have been a normal color; like brown, for instance. Or black.

Was he a physically affectionate person? Not that she knew of. Sasuke never initiated physical contact unless he was pulled into it forcefully, like when his mother hugged him. But it - _he_ - might have been different, especially with a woman he had actual feelings for and not "pretend" ones that he was supposed to harbor for her. They probably snuck in a few kisses during his breaks, after meetings... and were they innocent kisses, or the thorough ones that Ino told her about?

The ones with the tongue and the touching and the—_oops_.

Bad Sakura.

When the pink-haired woman finally realized she had been lost in her thoughts, it was too late. Her mother-in-law stood before her, hiding a laugh behind her hand. Sakura's eyes widened, feeling herself turning pink all over again.

"I won't tell anyone," Mikoto said, shooting the girl a knowing look.

"What? No!" Sakura spluttered, groaning inwardly in pure mortification... and embarrassment. Oh god, now her mother-in-law thinks she's some sort of pervert. "I wasn't thinking anything, I swear!"

"It's natural, dear," she giggled, patting Sakura on the shoulder. "I'm sure Sasuke-kun has those exact same thoughts about you. And hopefully with this dress, your wish will come true."

_God. _

Totally not a conversation she would have _ever_ expected to have with his mother.

"That's not—"

.

.

.

"Hurry back into the dressing room to change!" Mikoto interrupted as she shouted over her shoulder, already making her way towards the front counter, credit card in hand. "We have shoes to buy!"

* * *

"Dude," Naruto said, eyeing the tux that Sasuke had draping over his arm. "You seriously going to wear that?"

"Are you going to wear _that_?" Sasuke retorted, cocking a brow.

"The tie is cool," Naruto said defensively, stroking the striped orange tie that his adorable girlfriend gave to him. "But really, are you going to wear that?"

Sasuke exhaled loudly - impatiently.

"Would you like to continue with this game?"

"I'm just sayin'," the blonde replied, folding his arms behind his head. "I mean, won't Sakura notice that that's the exact same tux you wore for the photoshoot?"

"Are you naturally this observant or are you that adamant on irritating the shit out of me?" Sasuke growled, holding up the suit to eye it more carefully. This looked nothing like the tux he wore, but then again, he rarely paid any attention to what was carefully picked out for him to wear. Would his wife even care that this was the same tux? Would she even _notice_? It didn't matter, they weren't really married so there was nothing for her to be angry about... right?

Sasuke frowned.

But the idiot had noticed...

_Damn it._

.

.

Naruto shot him a cheeky grin, causing his best friend to throw the clothing in his face. With a knowing grin, he pointed towards the cell phone sitting rather innocently on the dresser, earning a middle finger and a door slam to the face.

"You're welcome, bastard!" he shouted, already hearing the Uchiha talking rather quickly over the phone.

.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh, clutching the tuxedo closer to his body. Out of all the suits that Sasuke had to grab, it was the one that he had borrowed secretly last month and spilled sauce on, then out of panic had shoved to the very back of the closet. He gave himself a mental pat on the back; to think he pulled a fast one on the arrogant genius...

_Uzumaki Naruto: 1_

_Uchiha Sasuke: 0_

* * *

"I'm still not so sure about this dress," Sakura said, feeling her stomach twist in knots. "I feel like my chest is hanging out. Isn't this a little short? I wouldn't mind wearing dress pants and maybe a blou—"

"Nothing to worry about," Mikoto reassured, adding some finishing touches to the bun sitting on top of Sakura's head. "The dress was altered to fit your body perfectly so there won't be any accidents."

"And when you say accidents..."

The woman ignored her, walking across the room to retrieve the heels that were still sitting in its box. After much deliberation, Mikoto had decided on one inch open-toed black heels, despite the fact that she was itching to give Sakura the three inch ones that she had bought on impulse. The girl was standing at a measly 5'2", barely reaching her son's shoulder! But better to let her cute daughter-in-law be... she managed to torture the girl enough as it is.

.

.

"Now," Mikoto said, an accomplished smile on her face. "All finished."

Sakura glanced at her reflection in the mirror, feeling just as she did on the day she wore the wedding gown. The strapless silver sequin dress fit perfectly on her body, leaving little room to move yet still gave her enough space to breathe without feeling the least bit constricted. Her hair was once again pulled into a - messy - bun, a few strands of loose hair framing her heart-shaped face. Mikoto had done a very nice job applying her make-up, and she couldn't help but revel in her appearance.

It almost made her excited to attend the gala.

Keyword: _almost_.

.

.

"Sasuke-kun is very lucky to have found such a beautiful wife."

The compliment caught her off-guard.

"I—I'm sure there are other girls that are a lot more attractive than I am," she replied, feeling somewhat awkward. _Someone with a bigger chest, for instance_. "And I wouldn't be able to look this... nice without your - anyone's - help, actually. I'm horrible with make-up, and my hair is either in a ponytail or barely brushed on my good days, and I—"

Mikoto laughed, causing Sakura to prompty shut her mouth.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled. "I tend to babble..."

"I'm just glad that he has good taste in women." She smiled. "It's difficult nowadays to meet people with high social and economic status that are genuine."

"Thank god for Naruto, then," Sakura joked weakly, clearing her throat.

"He's one of the few exceptions," she winked. "Now, since Sasuke-kun is one of the sponsors for the gala, you both need to be on your way. The first hour of the event is always the most important."

Wait, what?

"Aren't we just going to have dinner and uh, listen to speeches?"

"Ah, if only," Mikoto replied, grabbing a matching clutch from one of the shopping bags and handing it to Sakura. "It'd be very hard to strengthen relationships with future business partners if you're anti-social!"

"Right," Sakura said slowly, feeling as if she had made a big mistake with wanting to attend. "Of course."

"Have fun!" Mikoto encouraged, all but shoving Sakura out of the bedroom door.

.

Sakura groaned internally, rubbing her temple with her free hand. She stood staring at the wall for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. _Just remember all the names and faces of his friends and acquaintances, make light conversation, and try not to embarrass yourself... or royally screw up everything you've worked hard for this past week. _After taking a few minutes to compose herself, she turned around and headed towards the staircase, knowing that Sasuke would be waiting for her at the bottom.

.

.

.

_I can do this._

* * *

For a split second, Sakura swore she forgot how to breathe.

Was Sasuke always this attractive, or had his moment of kindness completely change her perspective on the man? He was looking bored - as usual - checking the time on his cellphone with a slight frown on his face, arm resting on the railing. The tuxedo he wore was very similar in style to the one he wore on their wedding photoshoot, the only difference this time was that the previous white dress shirt was now black. And... was he actually wearing a _silver-colored_ tie?

Mikoto must have picked it out.

A part of her wanted to run back up the stairs and lock herself in the room, though the click of her heels brought his attention to her, so she opted to smile uncomfortably and hope that he wasn't getting an eyeful on her way down the stairway. As expected, his eyes remained glued to her face and he remained quiet save for the mumbled instruction to stay while he signaled for Hayate to pull up in front of the house.

Sakura tried not to let the disappointment ruin her mood.

.

.

.

.

When he glanced up at his wife, the first thing that registered in his mind was that there _was _a good reason that his mother forced him to wear the silver tie. The second was the fact that despite having shared a room with Sakura over the past week, this was the very first time he was seeing so much exposed _skin_. Only years of practice and lessons on gentlemanly behaviour allowed him to focus on her nervous expression rather than the legs that looked a bit too appealing in the short dress she chose to wear tonight.

Sasuke had always found Sakura rather attractive, but it wasn't significant enough to leave an impression nor did it make him think about her in _that_ way. If anything, whatever he was feeling that was just bubbling - waiting - within him was all Sakura's damn fault. She had to have a nervous breakdown in his goddamn living room, practically forcing him to comfort her because she just knew he wouldn't know what else to do. Not to mention his idiot of a best friend kept implanting weird thoughts about his wife into his head during every second of every day.

Sakura was pretty, he'd admit that much. And smart. Her temper, however, sometimes got on his nerves... so did her need to return the favor for every little thing he did. Couldn't she accept his random acts of... _giving _without throwing a fucking hissy fit or spouting nonsense about the damn compromise? The way she bit her lip sometimes was also annoying - more than annoying. And how her lips would curve into a victorious smirk when she managed to win an argument, and the wa—

_Fuck._

Sasuke scowled, realizing where his thoughts were headed.

.

.

.

He couldn't wait until the night was over.

* * *

**Author's Note: **And the feelings are taking a turn! The whole Sasuke inner-monologue thing was a result of one too many conversations about the mouse effect I learned from a friend... apparently if you had a mouse inside of your home that you can never get rid of, you'll begin to become fond of it. Or something like that.

Buuut, I beasted through finals and the fall semester ended last week, so I am ready to enjoy my month of freedom! Happy Holidays!

(Also, link posted on my profile of Sakura's dress for anyone who was/are curious.)


	12. Encounter

**The Uchiha Fraud  
**Chapter Twelve

* * *

When the couple finally arrived at the venue where the gala was being held, Sakura never imagined that it would be so… extravagant. There were large double doors that led towards the main dining hall, or at least, what Sasuke called a "dining hall." The only dining halls that Sakura was familiar with were the ones located in the hospital, which paled in comparison when it came to the place she was currently standing in. The ceiling towered high above them, coated in intricate paintings of the sky with a chandelier covered in diamonds hanging elegantly in the center.

"So _this_ is the infamous Uchiha Sakura," a voice commented.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the ceiling, coming face-to-face with a brunette with pearl-colored eyes. Having been caught off-guard, Sakura began to panic when she realized that she recognized him but had forgotten his name. However, before she could find a way to greet him without his name, Sasuke cut in.

"Hyuuga," he greeted, glancing at said male's companion in acknowledgment. "Tenten, I presume?"

"The very one," the woman grinned, looping an arm with her husband's. "I've been dying to meet your wife. Naruto won't stop talking about her."

"Unfortunately," the man added dryly, quickly glancing over at Sakura. "No offense."

"None taken," Sakura mumbled, trying not to move away out of shock when Sasuke laid a hand on the small of her back. She could see Tenten trying to fight down a smile as she nudged her partner playfully with a wink.

If Sasuke had noticed, he didn't say anything.

"This is Hyuuga Neji and Tenten," Sasuke introduced, turning towards Sakura who sent him a grateful smile. "I've told you about them."

No, he didn't, but it gave her time to compose herself.

"Of course!" Sakura said brightly, offering her hand. _The Hyuugas_. Neji's biography had been an interesting read, though it was apparent that his intimidating aura hadn't been exaggerated. He currently owned a law firm, having built it from the ground up after having nothing to fall back on due to his deceased father's file for bankruptcy. Hyuuga Tenten, his wife of almost a year, was known as one of the few women throughout Japan who had mastered the art of weaponry. "I hear your dojo has been doing quite well for the past year."

"Yes, it's bee—"

"Awesome!" Tenten interrupted, her face breaking out into a smile. "We recently got a hold of one of Japan's famous martial artists – Rock Lee. Thankfully Neji's father was close friends with Lee's mentor so we were extremely fortunate." When Neji sent her a stern look, she smiled back sheepishly. "Sorry, I get a little carried away… Neji is too modest when it comes to these things."

"It's no problem," Sakura assured her quickly, feeling a little more relaxed. "I'd be just as excited, but I don't know a thing about martial arts… or weapons, for that matter."

Tenten's ears perked up at the mention of weapons, but before she could begin her stories, Neji stopped her.

"I think," Neji said smoothly, "we should greet our other guests. I'm sure the Uchihas have some other business to attend to."

Tenten pouted though finally relented when Neji raised a brow challengingly.

"Maybe we can get together sometime? I'll be happy to teach you how to make swords!" she offered, waving enthusiastically when her husband began to tug her away.

"I'd love to," Sakura replied, waving at the couple as they walked off. When they were out of earshot, she let out a deep breath, turning to Sasuke with an apologetic smile.

"Er, sorry."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, releasing his hand - much to Sakura's relief.

"Should I name all of the guests here that you need to pay special attention to?" he suggested, though it came out sounding somewhat sarcastic.

"No!" Sakura protested, fiddling with the clutch in her hands. "I was just surprised… does, um, Neji… _know_?"

"Yes."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "But his wife…"

"Doesn't," Sasuke finished, wrapping an arm around her waist. She instantly stiffened, feeling herself blush when he pulled her closer. When Sakura made a move to put some considerable distance between them, he gestured towards a table surrounded by people who were eying them skeptically. "Only the people I can trust are informed. " His voice lowered. "And would it kill you to play along?"

"Maybe if you asked to put your hands on me..." Sakura replied sweetly, instantly smiling when she saw an elderly women whisper to a man beside her. "Do I just pretend like no one knows, then?"

Sasuke sent her a blank look before adjusting his hand on her waist, sending a warm feeling through her.

"What do _you_ think?"

* * *

Over the course of two hours, Sakura managed to meet most - if not all - of the people that she had to research on. Though most of the conversations remained on topics of business and traveling overseas, there were a few instances where her and Sasuke's relationship was brought to the surface, forcing her to relay the same story that she had told to Mikoto in order for things to remain consistent. Surprisingly, there were a few old men who weren't afraid to voice their opinions when it came to having their daughters being better suited for the Uchiha heir.

Most of it revolved around a wealthier background and future partnerships, all of which Sasuke had declined politely, much to Sakura's surprise. He really was a whole different person in this kind of environment.

"I'm surprised that you treat most of these people better than Naruto," Sakura commented, laughing when Sasuke scoffed.

"It's called keeping up appearances," he replied, taking a sip of the wine that was given to him earlier. "Half of these people are irritating."

"_Only_ half?" she pressed, fingering the rim of the glass absent-mindedly. "Then what about the rest of them?"

"What _about_ them?" he retorted, watching the couples sway to the music on the dance floor. "Don't think I would ever talk to any of these old coots willingly if not for the potential business partnerships in the future."

"Is it possible that Uchiha Sasuke is a… _gold digger_?" Sakura burst into giggles, which eventually turned into full-blown laughter after he shot her a glare.

"You're insa—"

.

.

.

"My, my," a voice said from above them. "Is that a smile I see? How atrocious."

"I was _not _smiling." Sasuke scowled. "Go to hell."

"Such crude language!" the silver-haired man said, patting Sasuke's head. "Now, who is this lovely lady sitting beside you?"

"Har—Uchiha Sakura," Sakura answered, smiling at the strange man. It was incredibly hard to forget someone who never showed his face. "You are… Hatake Kakashi?"

"Sure am," he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'm touched that my dear pupil has talked about me. And to his wife!"

"No one talks about you," Sasuke said, only to be ignored as Kakashi reached over to shake Sakura's hand. "Ah, what beautiful hands you have here. So _soft_. Sasuke here is so lucky to be able to feel them when you touch his—"

"_Kakashi_," Sasuke hissed.

Sakura squeaked, fighting down the blush that was threatening to stain her cheeks.

"Huh," Kakashi observed, his eyes darting between the two. "I was sure he would have jumped you by now, seeing as he's sexually deprived and antisocial." Sasuke seethed. "Not to mention that dress makes you look so—"

"And you say _I'm _deprived?" Sasuke glared. "Go hit on someone else's wife. _Pervert_."

"No need to get feisty," he replied good-naturedly, about to say something else until a woman with crimson eyes walked past him. "I'd love to stay and chat but it seems there are matters to attend to. It was very nice meeting you, Sakura." And then he was gone.

"I knew this dress was a horrible idea," Sakura mumbled, tugging at the hems again.

Sasuke tightened his grip on the glass.

God, his mother could be absolutely devious if she put her mind to it. It was already difficult enough to keep his eyes on her face... did she even realize that every single time she pulled the dress to cover her thighs, she was exposing more skin above her chest? Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, spotting a male across the room who was getting an eyeful of Sakura's legs. Before he could register what he was doing, he shot a glare at the guest, who quickly turned around in fear after being caught.

_What the hell did she think she was doing?_

"Will you stop adjusting that goddamn dress?" Sasuke said under his breath, a hint of anger in his voice.

"It's not my fault that it's like this!" she complained, noticing that he was looking at everything else but her. "What?"

"What?" he repeated, glaring at the table.

"Why are you ma—"

"Nothing's wrong with that dress," he interrupted, surprising her. His eyes darting down very quickly before giving her a pointed look. "So stop fixing it. People keep staring at you."

"Fine," she grumbled, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Why are you so mean to your teacher? He seems really nic—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a click followed by a flash to her right temporarily blinded her. Sasuke's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. There was no doubt in his mind that someone had taken a picture of them. His eyes roved over the guests, checking for anyone who looked remotely suspicious.

"Damn it," Sasuke muttered, finishing the rest of his drink before standing up, earning a questioning glance from Sakura.

"What was that?" she asked warily, noticing the grim expression on his face.

Sasuke chose not answer, taking Sakura's hand in his before leading her across the floor towards a group of people. As they got closer, Sakura instantly recognized Neji who was chatting with an odd couple with Tenten at his side. Neji, noticing Sasuke quickly approaching them, politely excused himself before raising a brow.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I thought I specifically said no _cameras_," Sasuke said, his voice low.

Neji frowned. "All the guests were searched before entering the dining hall."

"Why?" Tenten asked, walking up to them. "What happened?"

"Someone snuck a camera in and snapped a photo of us," Sasuke explained quickly, unconsciously shielding Sakura as he looked around once more. "Are you sure you checked every single guest?"

"Of course I did," Neji replied, almost sounding offended. "Kiba and Shino have been patrolling the doors since this event started."

"Then how did someone manage to get past security?"

.

.

.

.

"Yo teme!"

Both couples looked over, spotting Naruto with a lavender-haired woman following closely behind.

'That must be Hinata,' Sakura thought, smiling despite the current predicament.

"_Not _now_, dobe."_

"I thought you fired Suigetsu?" he asked, jabbing his thumb towards the direction of the double doors.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Sasuke said, frustrated. Sakura didn't seem to be too upset about having her picture taken, given the way she was reacting so calmly. That was bound to change fairly soon. He grit his teeth. "And that bastard isn't allowed back here."

"But…" Naruto looked confused, sharing a look with his girlfriend. "I saw him leave the party."

Sasuke stiffened.

"What do you mean you _saw_ him?"

"We… we walked past him," Hinata said, her gaze filled with worry.

"Are you positive it was him?" Neji asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said slowly, then added, "and it looked like he was holding something."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry about the late update! This chapter was the deciding factor of where I wanted to take this story, so I needed to be absolutely sure I wanted to go down this route before posting this. School has been pretty hectic as of late, so thank you so much for being so patient with me!

Also, I have a new story up called "Kingdom of Snakes" so check it out and tell me what you think if you haven't already?


	13. Secrets

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Thirteen

* * *

After Naruto mentioned Suigetsu's name, the reactions were instantaneous.

"_Fuck_," Sasuke cursed.

"That doesn't add up," Tenten said after a moment. "What purpose does coming back serve?"

No one answered, but Sakura didn't miss the way Naruto shifted uncomfortably from beside her. Sakura bit her lip, tightening her grip on the clutch in her hands. The name Suigetsu sounded unfamiliar, though after a while she realized that she hadn't recognized the name because Sasuke had excluded that person's profile from her booklet.

"Who's Suigetsu?" she finally asked.

"Er…" Naruto's eyes darted over to Sasuke. "You don't know?"

"She wouldn't have asked if she didn't know," Tenten said, rolling her eyes. "Suigetsu was Sasuke's bodyguard – he got fired about a year ago. At least, that's what Neji tells me." She shrugged. "It's confidential information, apparently."

"There is no need for you to participate in all that useless gossip that goes around," Neji replied back curtly.

"But why would he come back?" Sakura asked, still not satisfied with the answer. "And why does it matter if he takes a picture of us?"

Naruto frowned. "I think it's better if—"

"We need to go," Sasuke interrupted suddenly, flipping his phone shut. He turned to Neji, the two sharing a look before Neji eventually gave him a slight nod. "Let's go, Sakura."

"But—"

"_Now_."

Sasuke grabbed her hand, ignoring her protests as he pulled her, signaling for Naruto to follow closely behind. Sakura turned her head to catch a glimpse of the remaining group behind them, noticing Neji's somber gaze before the doors swung shut.

* * *

_Uchiha Estate_

After arriving back home, Sakura was pushed not-so-gently into the living room where Sasuke had instructed her to sit on the couch, then proceeded to disappear into his office for the past half hour. Sakura sat quietly, attempting to ignore Naruto's obvious attempt at rambling—most likely to keep her from asking any unnecessary questions. Still, she wondered why this 'Suigetsu' was such a threat to Sasuke… or her, for that matter.

And what was so wrong with having a photo of the both of them together?

Wasn't she in this whole predicament to fool people into thinking they were married?

Sure, the public would have things to say about their—

Sakura froze.

.

.

.

The _public_.

"So then Hinata decided to stick up for herself and you should've seen the look on Neji's face! He was so—"

"I can't do this," Sakura blurted out suddenly, feeling herself beginning to panic.

"…angry! God, it was hilarious and—what?"

"I can't do this," she repeated, her hands clamming up. "This was only supposed to be two weeks and if everyone knows they're going to—I… I can't stay here." Suddenly she couldn't breathe. "This is horrible! Oh _God_."

"Whoa!" Naruto immediately stood up, calling over someone – most likely a maid – to grab a glass of water. "Calm down, Sakura-chan! Ah, shit."

Sakura could faintly hear him uttering a string of curses as he fumbled around the room for God-knows what. All too soon a paper bag that smelled like dust and dirt was shoved in her face, causing her nose to scrunch up in disgust.

"Breathe with this!" Naruto said, pushing the bag closer. "I saw it on some show; it'll help you calm down!"

"I am calm!" Sakura replied, slapping his hand away. "And don't grab things from off of the floor!"

"_I thought I told you guys to be quiet?"_

"We were!" Naruto protested, dropping the bag onto the floor – must to Sakura's relief. "Your wife here started going crazy."

Sasuke moved his gaze towards her, raising a questioning brow.

"I'm calm," she said again, letting out a frustrated sigh. "That guy – Suigetsu – if he let's that picture out…"

"I know," Sasuke said, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes. "I'm having a couple of people track him down as we speak."

"Who is he?" Sakura asked for the nth time that evening, her eyes dropping down to her lap. "I mean, I thought only a few people knew about this? Does he have something against you?" She paused, the wheels in her mind finally turning. "Come to think of it, Ino said you needed to convince your mother you were married… why go through all of this trouble?"

Naruto looked like he was about to answer, but Sasuke shot him a glare.

"I was… engaged," Sasuke said eventually, uncomfortable.

"Oh."

Sakura knew as much, but hearing him say it was a different thing altogether.

It didn't explain all too well what Suigetsu had to do with everything, though.

Sasuke must have read where her thoughts were headed, clearing his throat as he moved to sit down on the armchair across from her. Naruto brought his hand up, mouthing something to Sasuke before he turned to Sakura. Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat, carefully watching her expression.

Sakura pretended not to notice.

"Suigetsu was the teme's bodyguard," Naruto explained, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. "Personally, that guy was irritating. Didn't like him much but he did his job well so the bastard didn't complain." He hesitated. "Ah, well… until Karin cheated on him."

Sakura snuck a glance at Sasuke, his gaze impassive as ever.

"She was a whore anyway," Naruto said, shrugging. "Complained too much and—" he shot her a smile "Karin wasn't half as pretty as you are. And her hair was this weird shade of red… I was pretty surprised when I found out you had pink hair." Naruto laughed. "Guess bastard has a thing for redheads… or at least shades of it."

"_Idiot."_

Sasuke scowled.

.

.

.

Sakura was relieved – more than she would admit.

_Could _admit.

She hadn't realized that she was unconsciously competing with the image she had conjured of Sasuke's ex-fiancée, constantly worried that in some way she couldn't measure up. Who cares what he thinks anyway… right? It's not like she liked him or anything. Sakura clasped her hands together, the feeling of metal brushing against her finger reminded her of the ring she wore on her finger. Sakura was ordered to wear the small piece of jewelry on her finger upon accepting the proposition, but the color of the gemstone didn't register until today.

_Ruby._

Huh.

It's almost the same color of…

The end of Sakura's lips tugged into a frown.

"This ring…" she trailed off, already knowing the answer to her question.

"Ah, that's—"

"Karin's," Sasuke interrupted, his eyes boring into hers.

.

.

.

Sakura stared at the offending thing on her finger, suddenly hating herself for harboring even the slight hope of…

Doesn't matter.

She shoved down the sick feeling in her stomach, moving her hands beside her legs so she wouldn't have to stare at it anymore.

"That still doesn't explain why Suigetsu is back."

"You see—"

"Karin," Sasuke interrupted smoothly, "probably sees you as a threat. Suigetsu is here on her behalf, most likely."

"Teme," Naruto hissed, shooting a hard look. "_You know that's not_—"

"Don't worry about it," he continued, ignoring the blonde. "Neji is taking care of things."

Sakura remained silent, still skeptical.

"My mother wants to talk to you," Sasuke told her suddenly.

_She had forgotten all about Mikoto._

"What? Why?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Girl talk."

.

.

.

Sakura stood up, about to stretch her limbs though quickly remembered that she hadn't changed out of her dress. 'What a waste,' she thought, eyes sliding discreetly over to Sasuke who was silently talking with Naruto. 'Not like he would have noticed…'

Or cared.

.

.

.

Sakura sighed.

* * *

None of it made sense.

If Karin had been so adamant on leaving Sasuke, why would it matter if she was with him as a "pretend" marriage? Or even better, why would she see her as a threat? Maybe it was a pride thing. But usually that would require the new fiancée or whatever to be prettier and more accomplished. Sakura was still studying medicine at an institution and had no sex appeal whatsoever.

She wasn't even _wealthy_.

And to top it all off, how did Karin know that they weren't officially married… taking a picture seemed more along the lines of blackmail than revenge. Wasn't running off with her fiancée's bodyguard already enough of a revenge?

Sakura rubbed her temples, feeling a headache starting to form.

.

.

"Are you okay?"

She snapped her head up, facing a smiling Mikoto who was standing at the top of the stairway.

"Oh," Sakura responded lamely, dropping her hands from her head. "Just… kind of tired."

"Well, we can fix that!" Mikoto said happily, pulling her into her and Sasuke's shared room.

.

.

.

.

"You don't have to do this," Sakura murmured, cracking an eye open to stare at Mikoto in the mirror who was braiding her hair.

"It helps me relax," Mikoto replied, a soft smile on her lips. "And it'll help you relax!"

Sakura didn't answer, closing her eyes once more as Mikoto's hands ran gently through her hair.

"I'm disappointed," her mother-in-law sighed. "My idiot son has more restraint than I imagined."

Sakura blushed.

"Er, I don't think he—"

"Who turns down such a beautiful woman in a dress?" she continued, pouting. "I don't understand him sometimes."

"It's not like that," Sakura muttered under her breath, fiddling with the ring on her finger, something Mikoto didn't miss.

She felt the older woman sigh, finishing up the braid before tying it and setting the brush down. Mikoto gently grabbed Sakura's shoulder, turning her around so they were facing one another. There was a sad smile on her face, almost as if her mother-in-law understood exactly was she was feeling.

Sakura broke their eye contact, uncomfortable.

"So it's safe to assume that you've found out about Karin?"

Sakura's eyes widened.

Had she accidentally said something while deep in thought?

She hadn't remembered what Mikoto was prattling on about while her hair was being braided… _crap_.

_Sasuke was going to _murder_ her._

"Calm down," Mikoto laughed, patting her cheek affectionately. "Of course I know. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't?"

Sakura was still in shock, staring wide-eyed at the Uchiha matriarch.

"_Why_ do you think I'm here?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "I knew he was engaged a year ago from a phone call, though it wasn't until recently that I found out about everything being called off. As if a few thousand miles could prevent me from checking up on my son."

"So… you know?" Sakura asked slowly. "About us not being…?"

"Yes, about your marriage being a fraud." Mikoto clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Sasuke-kun thinks he can pull a fast one on his own mother… honestly. That boy has learned nothing about me while growing up." She sighed.

"Wait, if you know…" Sakura's brows knitted together. "Why do you keep pushing him onto me?"

"At first it was just to humor him," she started, tapping her chin. "He went through all this trouble to trick me, after all. But then…" Mikoto patted Sakura's head softly. "I realized something."

Sakura waited for her to continue, but she only let out a laugh.

"Ah, it's unfortunate though…" Mikoto said sadly. "I'm scheduled to leave earlier than I intended. Sasuke's father, I'm sure you know, is a bit overprotective. I would have liked to see how things with my son progressed…"

"That's not possible," Sakura blurted. "I mean, I'm only here as long as you are."

'At least until the Suigetsu thing gets figured out,' Sakura thought, though she wisely kept that information to herself. It didn't seem like Mikoto was aware of what was going on, anyhow.

But with her… you never know.

"Hm, I suppose so." Mikoto frowned. She laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile. "I don't know much about you with how little time we've spent together these past few days, but whatever the circumstances were, it lead you here. I'm a big believer of fate and soul mates; I met Fugaku by chance, you know."

Sakura smiled.

"…I know that you're here for a reason, and whatever reason that may be, it brought you here by Sasuke-kun's side. And I could be wrong…" she trailed off momentarily, "but you feel something. You're just not ready to admit it yet. I've done what I could, so it's all up to you with what you decide from this point on. And forget about Karin… from what I've collected of their relationship, she's nothing special."

Mikoto winked, earning a light chuckle from Sakura.

"So…" she clapped her hands together, lightening the mood. "Are you up for one last mother-daughter bonding time?"

"I'd love to."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am still alive! Thank you so much for the positive feedback and all the wonderful messages! I love waking up to review, story, and favorite alerts （ﾉ´∀`）

Also if you haven't already, please participate in SasuSaku Month! Sign-ups have already started and more information can be found at the link I've posted on my profile!


	14. Past Unveiled

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Fourteen

* * *

"You know," Naruto started, breaking the silence. "I always knew you were a jerk - an UGLY one, at that, but never a liar."

"And I always knew you were deaf," Sasuke shot back. "For the hundredth time, we don't need unnecessary distractions."

"How is Sakura-chan a distraction?" the blonde retorted. "YOU'RE the one who got her into this mess. Maybe not DIRECTLY, but you totally did." He paused, then added, "Idiot."

Sasuke ignored him, choosing instead to tap his fingers against the armchair - deep in thought.

To think that Suigetsu would openly come back and show his face again at the manor. Didn't he tell that bastard to never come back? And how was it possible that he managed to sneak past Kiba and Shino? The pair was notorious for their surveillance. But then again, Suigetsu had an interesting background... and they worked alongside each other for so long.

Of course he would have known the ins and outs of the compound.

If Sasuke had a choice, he would not have hired anyone - bodyguard or not - due to the potential risk of THIS incident happening. Apparently he wasn't as intelligent as he thought if he managed to make the same mistake twice by hiring some random woman through Naruto... and getting into this horrible mess. Of course, going back to the sole reason why Sakura was needed in the first place made Sasuke want to punch himself in the face.

_Hard._

But of course, Sasuke suspected that Suigetsu would be unfaithful to him... Karin's infidelity was just salt on the wound.

A thought suddenly occurred to him...

_Suigetsu's file._

Sasuke pulled open his drawer, flipping through the various tabs, though the manila folder marked 'Hozuki Suigetsu' was nowhere to be found. He sat still for a moment, closing his eyes and tried to remember the last time that he had the folder. It was sitting on top of his desk - opened... then he was called in for a meeting and left the room with—

"Do you have Suigetsu's file?" Sasuke demanded, scaring Naruto who was absent-mindedly balancing a pencil on top of his lips.

"Wha? Why would I have it?"

"Because I _left_ it on my desk," Sasuke replied, gritting his teeth.

"I don't get it..." Naruto said slowly, rubbing his chin. "Why would I know where it is?"

"Because I was running late for a meeting," he explained impatiently, "And I left the room with the folder open... on the table. In the room. With _you_."

"Well how the hell am I supposed to remember?!" the blonde snorted, crossing his arms in a huff. "This was probably like ages ago."

"This was five months ago when I was contemplating on burning it."

"Not my proble—"

"Do you remember or not?" Sasuke interrupted, feeling the need to bash his friend's head.

"No..."

"Great," Sasuke said sarcastically, "you've been a wonderful waste of time."

"Well this is your own damn fault for being irresponsible!"

.

.

.

.

_Hmm... _Naruto thought, eyeing Sasuke from his peripheral vision, _open folder on a desk_. As smart as Sasuke seemed to be, how the hell was he supposed to remember what he was doing five months ago?! Well, five months ago he remembered eating a new brand of instant ramen... oh yeah! It was in the bastard's office.

There was menma in the package... gross. And there was this special seasoning... Jerk was complaining - as usual - about the smell staining his cushions. Oh! He was sitting with a folder... the first bite of the ramen was the best, though it tasted a little weird at first. Bastard got a call - interrupted his lunch - and made his way out of the office after telling him not to touch anything. Especially the folder.

The folder!

Naruto finally remembered.

"Hey! I remember now," he said excitedly. "I went to sit on your desk because my hand was getting tired of holding the bowl up then I accidentally spilled my noodles... on your..." Naruto's eyes widened after remember perfectly what happened. "Folder."

_Well, shit._

Sasuke didn't know whether or not he should be grateful or furious.

"Well?"

Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"I tried to dry it off with a napkin but the papers soaked up too much water," Naruto replied, avoiding eye contact. "So... I panicked and stuffed it into the trash."

Sasuke froze.

"You... threw it away?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You _do_ realize," Sasuke started, clenching his fists, "that those were confidential and important, right?"

"I panicked..." Naruto half-whined. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"NOT trash it?"

"You were going to kill me..."

"_And you think that I won't do it now?"_

* * *

Spending time with Mikoto was a bittersweet affair.

Although Sasuke and Naruto refused to leave the office, the two managed to go out and spend Mikoto's last few hours in Japan at a restaurant that she especially enjoyed. But of course, the woman never ceased to surprised Sakura. After their "Dinner Date," her mother-in-law grabbed the luggage from the trunk of the limousine and took off on the next flight to America. Sakura was disappointed that Sasuke wasn't there to see his mother off... who knows when the next time Mikoto was able to visit.

And now... here she was, sitting alone inside their shared bedroom - wondering what the hell she was supposed to do about the camera incident.

The whole charade was supposed to be temporary, but now she was going to be permanently stuck playing a role that she didn't want to be apart of. Yes, Sasuke was a handsome man... more than handsome, really. Absolutely gorgeous. But she didn't belong in this superficial world, to put it simply. She had ambitions of being a doctor, of doing extraordinary things in her life. And yet, the moment that was labeled 'Uchiha Sakura' officially, all her credibility will be burned to ashes.

Sakura groaned, letting herself fall back as she stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

_Was that the only reason why she was worried about the fake marriage being revealed to the public?_

"I just wanted a normal life," Sakura said to herself quietly, reaching up to grasp at air. "But of course, money led me to my doom."

If she had anything to be grateful about, it was the fact that she had met such a wonderful person like Mikoto. She lacked a mother-figure in her life so it was... comforting, to say the least. And then there was her son—

Who may or may not have feelings for her.

But how did she feel about all of this?

.

.

"Ah, get a grip, Sakura..."

There was no time to think about Sasuke or anyone's feelings... not while Suigetsu was in the picture. There was a nagging feeling in her gut that told her that Sasuke wasn't being completely honest with her about his former bodyguard. It seemed random and unlikely that the guy would just show up due to his ex-girlfriend who he hasn't seen or heard from in months. But the question is... what exactly is he trying to cover up?

.

.

.

.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

"Good thing Shikamaru is a technical genius," Naruto joked, wincing a bit due to the painful feeling in his stomach. "Don't see why you had to punch me, though. Didn't know you were such a savage."

"You needed to learn a lesson," Sasuke replied, scrolling through the information on his laptop.

High school education... Irrelevant.

College...

Unknown.

"You know what I was just thinking?" Naruto asked, folding his arms behind his head. "Menma is worse than vegetab—"

_There._

"Otogakure," Sasuke interrupted.

"Hey..." Naruto's eyes widened. "Isn't that the same place where..."

.

.

"_Orochimaru."_

.

.

.

"So it wasn't Karin, after all?"

Naruto sat up quickly.

"Sakura-chan!"

She ignored him, opting to look at Sasuke instead, though his eyes remained glued to the screen.

"No," Sasuke finally said. "He found a job at Otogakure after I fired him."

Sakura sighed inwardly, relieved that he wasn't intending to keep secrets.

"But who's Orochimaru?"

There was a pause.

"You see..." Naruto chuckled nervously, looking at Sasuke for permission. He must have received a nod of approval because the blonde continued. "There was a... problem almost five years ago with the bastard's company."

"And Orochimaru?" Sakura asked, getting impatient.

"Helped me," Sasuke reluctantly answered.

"Well, more like the bastard took what he needed and left."

"He made me an offer and I refused," Sasuke correct, glaring at Naruto. "There's a difference."

"Whatever," Naruto said, waving his hand. "The snake didn't take it well though."

"Obviously not," the Uchiha heir said sarcastically.

"So... now what?" Sakura pressed. "He's using your old bodyguard to get under your skin?"

"That's not it."

There was something more to it... but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

It was strange, because why would Suigetsu be involved?

What was Orochimaru propositioning... and was Karin part of this, too?

Sasuke tensed.

"How long ago since Suigetsu was first employed?"

"Hmm... this was back in October," Naruto thought out loud. "It was the same year that I met Hinata, which was... oh! Three years ago!"

"But if the incident was five years ago, and you employed Suigetsu three years ago..." Sakura said slowly.

That bastard had been trying to sink his claws in since three years ago.

.

.

.

And Karin was only the beginning.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Can't believe that it's been a year since I've last updated... oops. But, I'm back! I know this chapter is extremely short especially considering that it's been a while, but please bear with me. Thank you for being so patient and continuing to stick with me despite my sporadic updates. It really means a lot!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	15. The Chase

**The Uchiha Fraud**  
Chapter Fifteen

* * *

"So let's assume that this Orochimaru person is behind this whole debacle," Sakura said suddenly, breaking the silence. "How would you even prove that it's him? Otokagure is a huge city… it could be a mere coincidence that the bodyguard you hired and the person you sought help from reside in same place."

"There are no coincidences," Sasuke stated curtly. "Otokagure may be a large city, but when it comes to certain… activities, it's a lot smaller than you think."

"And yet you asked for his assistance…" Sakura said, a hint of displeasure in her voice.

"_I told you from the very beginning—"_

"Shut up, you idiot," Sasuke snapped. "Unless you can somehow travel back in time, I'd advise you to keep your loud mouth closed."

"What was so important that you needed Orochimaru's help?" Sakura asked quickly, too exhausted to witness another argument between the two. "I mean, were his resources worth the backlash?"

"It's a long story," Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to relieve the forming headache.

Not that Sasuke would ever admit it, but there were things he regretted in the past, and choosing to seek help from a conniving snake was one of them. But five years ago at the ripe age of seventeen, it was near impossible to revive the company that his father had worked so hard to build after _he _left—abandoning all responsibility and shouldering it onto his younger brother. Inexperienced, unprepared, and stuck at a dead end, there wasn't much else he could do on his own.

And so he made a deal with the devil—a deal that he never intended on remaining faithful to.

But to think that Orochimaru would still hold a grudge five years later...

_Absolutely Pathetic._

.

As for _him_… Sasuke didn't know whether or not he was still wandering somewhere in Japan, or if he chose to travel overseas, but to be honest—he didn't give a shit.

As far as he was concerned, his older brother was dead.

.

.

"Like I said," Sakura repeated once more, interrupting Sasuke from his thoughts. "You can't automatically assume that it's Orochimaru without proper evidence."

"Who else could it be?" Naruto spoke up, crossing his arms childishly as he glared at the Uchiha heir. "This bastard knew the consequences when he decided to make that deal. And what did I tell you from the very beginning? I warned you—"

"I'm leaving," Sasuke interrupted, ignoring the look that Naruto shot him.

"Er… _what_?"

"We don't have enough evidence," he stated, glancing over at Sakura who sat there - silent. "And if that's the case, then there's only one way to find out."

"Which is…?"

"None of your business," Sasuke finished, closing his laptop.

"What do you mean?" Naruto spluttered, still unsure as to whether or not he was angry about Sasuke's sudden urge to leave. "You can't just drag us off to God knows where—"

"I wasn't asking you to go with me," Sasuke corrected, sifting through the drawers - pocketing a few items. "Stay with Sakura."

"_What? No—"_

The Uchiha heir ignored him, slamming the door behind him on his way out.

.

.

.

Sasuke's first instinct was to hunt down Orochimaru first and foremost, but at the moment, heading to Otokagure without a plan was equivalent to asking for a death wish. Just as Sakura said, he lacked the proper evidence that proved that the snake was behind Suigetsu's involvement in his life as well as the former bodyguard's appearance at the event, but in all likelihood, it could not have been anyone else _but_ Orochimaru. There were various people who were after the Uchiha fortune, and after Sasuke had taken over the mantle, the chances of destroying his family's corporation became more probable... or so they believed.

Even though he was no longer around, Itachi was still a threat to his existence.

Sasuke clenched his fists.

* * *

Following Sasuke's exit, the room remained completely silent.

.

.

.

"... Is he going to be okay?" Sakura finally asked, suddenly wary after seeing the dumbfounded expression on Naruto's face. "You didn't specify why exactly Orochimaru was a threat—you just said that he was."

"Orochimaru…" Naruto trailed off, unsure of what to say. "He's one creepy fucker."

"And that explains everything," Sakura responded dryly.

"It's complicated," he muttered, feeling his skin crawl just thinking about the man. The word "creepy" didn't even come close to what Orochimaru was… _inhumane_, was more like it. "You see, there are a lot of corporations that get to where they are through wealth, money, and power. That's how Sasuke's company was when it belonged to his father… and later, his brother."

Sakura's eyebrow shot up.

"Yeah, the bastard has a brother. Well, he _did_." Naruto paused for a moment. "Anyways, Orochimaru is basically the head honcho of a powerful company… except he gained his prestige or whatever the hell you call it through different methods."

"Different methods…?" Sakura urged, curious.

"He just cheated, okay?" Naruto blurted out, clearing his throat. "There's a _right _way, and then there's the wrong way. A very _wrong_… way."

"And Sasuke-kun felt the need to ask for his help?" Sakura asked once more, more so to herself than to Naruto. "He must have been desperate."

"Well, when your older brother decides to destroy the company from the inside out—you're going to need a lot of help," Naruto replied. "Sasuke's father didn't know about any of this, of course. The bastard never says it, but his relationship with his father has always been a little weird. Being in the shadow of his older brother just made it that much worse."

Sakura took a moment to process all the information… but there was one thing that bothered her—

"So what exactly did Sasuke need from him?"

.

.

.

"_Well…"_

* * *

Sasuke didn't necessarily have a plan in mind… all he knew was that he needed a tracker.

And he needed one _now_.

So he called the only person he could actually depend on to get the job done—

"Inuzuka."

.

.

.

Getting to Orochimaru wouldn't be easy, but there was one way to lure him out.

_And he was going to start with Suigetsu._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Holidays! I won't even bother with apologizing because I have no excuse... but I'm HOPING to update each of my stories at least once before returning back to school for winter quarter. However, lately I've been toying with the idea of taking prompt requests - mainly to keep the creativity flowing and to take a "break" from my story's plot lines. Feel free to leave a review as to what you think?

But thank you for reading! Next chapter will definitely be longer!


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